The reason IDF soldiers fell in the Gaza Strip is due to a lack of ammunition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a joint press conference with Hostage Coordinator Gal Hirsch on Tuesday evening.
"Our soldiers fell [in Gaza] because we didn't have enough ammunition, " the prime minister claimed. "That changed when Trump took office."
Netanyahu and Hirsch celebrated the fact that, for the first time in 12 years, there are no hostages being held in the Gaza Strip.
"One hundred and sixty-eight hostages were returned alive. Eighty-seven were returned dead," Hirsch said in a broken voice. "I remember each name and face, I love their families, and I am tormented and grieved by the suffering and the terrible loss."
"This was the most difficult task of my life," Hirsch said.
"Yesterday, we completed the sacred mission of returning all of the hostages," Netanyahu announced, adding that he heard others referring to the good news as "unbelievable."
The prime minister further claimed that he had always believed that Israel would return all of the hostages, even when others lost hope or tried to pressure him to give in to Hamas's demands.
PM intends to disarm Hamas, Gaza
Netanyahu then stated his intention of "dismantling and disarming Hamas, and disarming Gaza." He cited US President Donald Trump, saying that the two of them agreed that there are only two options when it comes to the mission of disarming Gaza: "it will be done the easy way or the hard way."
A US official said on Monday that disarmament could come along with some sort of amnesty for Hamas members, according to Reuters.
"I'm hearing people saying that we will rebuild Gaza before it is demilitarized. That won't happen," Netanyahu said, discussing the future of the Palestinian population in Gaza.
"I'm also hearing that we will bring Turkish and Qatari soldiers into Gaza. That won't happen. I'm hearing that I will allow the establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza. That hasn't happened, and it won't happen."
Addressing the Iran crisis and looming threat
Netanyahu then addressed the Iran threat, saying that "If Iran makes the grave mistake of attacking Israel, we will respond with a force that Iran has never seen before."
The prime minister added that the US will decide on its own how to deal with Iran, as will Israel.
"I don't want to dictate to President Trump what he will or will not do," Netanyahu said, adding that he and Trump do "report fully" to one another on Iran.
The conference comes one day after the remains of St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili, the final hostage taken by Hamas on October 7, 2023, was discovered by the IDF in northern Gaza and returned to Israel for burial.
Gvili was killed in fighting against Hamas terrorists on October 7, after saving the lives of partygoers fleeing the Nova music festival in Re’im and defending Kibbutz Alumim.