OAN Staff Blake Wolf
10:50 AM – Monday, October 13, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke alongside President Donald Trump before the Knesset, announcing that Monday “marks the end of two years of war,” while thanking the American president for his critical role in facilitating the recent hostage release deal.
In his speech, Netanyahu laid out the course of the past two years, beginning with Hamas’ terror attack on October 7, 2023, in which thousands of Islamist terrorists invaded Israeli territory, murdering 1,200 individuals while taking 251 hostages.
“Israel did what it had to do,” in response to the terror attack, Netanyahu stated. “With indomitable courage, we set out to defend our people, to defeat our enemies, and to release our hostages.”
He also honored President Trump in his speech, calling him the “greatest friend that the state of Israel has ever had in the White House.” Netanyahu thanked President Trump for introducing his peace proposal and gaining widespread international support — leading to the release of the alive and remaining Israeli hostages.
“Mr. President, today we welcome you here to thank you for your pivotal leadership in putting forward a proposal that got the backing of almost the entire world. A proposal that brings all our hostages home. A proposal that ends the war by achieving all our objectives. A proposal that opens the door to a historic expansion of peace in our region and beyond our region,” Netanyahu stated.
Advertisement“Mr. President, you are committed to this peace, I am committed to this peace, and together, Mr. President, we will achieve this peace.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid spoke in front of President Trump as well, echoing Netanyahu’s sentiment while emphasizing the lives of the soldiers Trump saved with his 20-point peace proposal.
“Mr. President, you have saved the lives of our hostages. But you saved so much more. You have saved the souls of the bereaved whose loved ones now will be brought home for burial, you have saved thousands of soldiers who will not fall in battle, and you have saved millions from the horrors of war. You have saved far more than one life, and each life is an entire world,” Lapid stated.
“When you were elected, you declared that you would be ‘the President of Peace.’ You have kept your word. The fact that you were not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize is a grave mistake by the committee – but they will have no choice, Mr. President. They will have to award it to you next year,” he continued.
Lapid went on to promote Israeli normalization with other nations in the region, calling on President Trump to lead the charge.
“Mr. President, you are the one who can make it happen — as you did with the historic Abraham Accords. Then, too, no one believed it was possible. Then, too, you imposed your vision on everyone. While others spoke of difficulties, you created opportunity. You can be the one to bring the next wave of peace. The people of Israel support this. They want it. We are ready.”
Despite widespread support for Trump’s peace proposal within Israel, Likud Knesset member Amit Halevi announced his decision to skip President Trump’s speech, calling his proposal an “illusion of victory,” according to The Times of Israel.
Haveli went on to label Trump’s 20-point peace proposal “the opposite of victory.”
“We must tell the public the truth, bow our heads in pain and humility in the face of the military failure, learn lessons, and plan our steps to win in the future,” Haveli stated on Sunday.
Haveli argued that Trump’s proposal essentially amounted to Israel agreeing to “the establishment of a Palestinian state on ancestral land in Gaza… to allow its antisemitic enemies Turkey and Qatar a foothold here, to leave Hamas and its neo-Nazi infrastructure intact at the height of their power, and to add thousands of arch-murders who will return to its ranks to continue its plan to annihilate Israel.”
Meanwhile, Israeli forces have since taken custody of four coffins containing the bodies of hostages killed in Gaza, after Hamas handed them over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Monday evening. The transfer, part of the broader deal, resulted in outrage after Hamas failed to return all 28 bodies it had promised under the agreement.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news alerts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
What do YOU think? Click here to jump to the comments!Sponsored Content Below