Israel will achieve all goals of the Gaza war it had set out to accomplish, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday (October 16).

Speaking at a state ceremony for fallen soldiers during the two-year conflict with militant group Hamas, Netanyahu also said Israel's enemies learned that anyone who lifts a hand against it will pay a heavy price.

The Gaza war began when Palestinian militants from Gaza, led by Hamas, stormed Israeli border communities, a music festival and army bases on October 7, 2023. They killed 1,200 people and kidnapped over 250 others into Gaza, most of them civilians, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel launched an offensive into the coastal territory in retaliation, killing nearly 68,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians according to Hamas' health ministry.

The Israeli military has said nearly 1,000 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the Oct. 7 attack and in the two years war that followed the Palestinian attack. Over 6,000 others were left wounded.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

JERUSALEM (OCTOBER 16, 2025) (ISRAELI MINISTRY OF DEFENCE - Access all)

1. ISRAELI PRESIDENT ISAAC HERZOG AND WIFE ARRIVING AT MEMORIAL CEREMONY FOR FALLEN SOLDIERS OF OCTOBER 7TH HAMAS-LED ATTACK AND GAZA WAR

2. HERZOG AND WIFE SHAKING HANDS WITH OFFICIALS, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU BEHIND THEM, SHAKING HANDS WITH OFFICIALS

3. CEREMONY

4. MAN PLACING YARMULKE (KIPPA) ON NETANYAHU'S HEAD

5. CEREMONY

6. NETANYAHU AND OFFICIALS DURING CEREMONY

7. VARIOUS OF CROWD STANDING WHILE A FEMALE SOLDIER PLAYS THE TRUMPET

8. CHIEF ISRAELI ARMY CANTOR SINGING JEWISH PRAYER FOR THE DEAD

9. NETANYAHU, HERZOG AND OTHERS DURING JEWISH PRAYER

10. CANTOR

11. FIRE

12. VARIOUS OF NETANYAHU WALKING UP TO STAGE

13. (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU SAYING:

"Our wonderful sons and daughters who gave their lives in battle, they are the foundation stones of Israel's revival. Jews, Druze, Christians, Muslims, Bedouins, Circassian."

14. WOMAN CRYING

15. (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU SAYING:

"They worked shoulder to shoulder to achieve all of the war's goals. And we will achieve all of the war's goals."

16. CROWD

17. (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU SAYING:

"Whoever raises their hand on us already knows that they will pay a very heavy price for their aggression. We are determined to complete the victory that will affect our lives for many years."

18. VARIOUS OF NETANYAHU STEPPING OFF STAGE, SHAKING HANDS WITH OFFICIALS

19. VARIOUS OF HERZOG PLACING A WREATH

20. VARIOUS OF NETANYAHU PLACING A WREATH

21. OFFICIALS STANDING UP FOR THE SINGING OF ISRAEL'S NATIONAL ANTHEM

22. VARIOUS OF FEMALE ISRAELI SOLDIERS, OFFICIALS INCLUDING NETANYAHU AND HERZOG, SINGING ISRAEL'S NATIONAL ANTHEM AT END OF MEMORIAL CEREMONY