'We stood up like lions': Netanyahu's address to Israelis one year from October 7, as he vows to 'remember our fallen'

7 October 2024, 15:05

Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Israeli people on October 7, vowing to "remember the fallen" and bring back the remaining hostages.

The Israeli Prime Minister said Israel was "obliged" to bring the remainder of the 250 hostages home, a year after they were kidnapped by the Hamas terrorists.

Hamas' attack, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, continues to cast a shadow over daily life in Israel.

Border communities have been upended and tens of thousands were displaced. Soldiers and many civilians have been killed in Gaza and Lebanon.

Meanwhile Iran launched a bombing attack on Israel last week, prompting fears of an all-out war in the Middle East.

Read more: Victims’ families break down in tears at Nova festival site one year on from October 7 attack

Read more: UK troops in Cyprus 'ready to act' with forces playing an 'important' role in preventing escalation

Mr Netanyahu's administration has been criticised both for the way they are pursuing the war in Gaza and Lebanon, and for not having brought the remaining hostages home yet.

Visiting a memorial for hostages in Jerusalem on Monday, Mr Netanyahu said in a filmed address: "On this day, on this place, and in many other places in our land, we remember our fallen, our hostages - whom we are obliged to bring home - and our heroes who fell for the defence of the homeland and the country.

"We went through a terrible massacre a year ago, and we stood up as a people, like lions."

Some 400 of the victims killed and taken hostage on October 7 were kidnapped from the Nova music festival.

Israel commemorated the victims with mourners gathering at the site of the festival massacre.

President Isaac Herzog condemned the ‘monstrous cruelty’ of the attackers who begun slaughtering innocent civilians enjoying a music festival at the site one year ago today.

Families of those killed attended the memorial site and many were seen breaking down in grief.

After a minute’s silence on Monday morning, Herzog said: “A year has passed since life came to a halt, the skies darkened, and all of us witnessed the monstrous cruelty of the enemy that sought to bring destruction upon the Jewish people, the State of Israel, and Israeli society.

“We are all still in pain, and we seek to make space for national mourning, for the tears over the terrible disaster that struck us,' he said, adding that the world 'must support Israel' to bring peace.”

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said Israel told LBC Israel had "a duty to destroy Hamas", when it was put to him the country has gone beyond defence and is now in offence.

He added that they are "an evil terrorist organisation."

The UK has called for "calm heads and restraint" in resolving the crisis, while also paying tribute to the victims of October 7.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer's official spokesman said: "Our priority is in preventing further escalation in the Middle East, and our focus is on working with allies to press for a diplomatic solution.

"All-out war is in nobody's interest, and we continue to call for calm heads and restraint."

Israelis mark one-year anniversary of Hamas attack

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel was a moment of "deep reflection and pain".

Visiting the South Tottenham synagogue in his own parliamentary constituency on Monday, the Foreign Secretary paid tribute to the Jewish community across the country.

He echoed Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's description of the Hamas surprise assault last year, in which 1,200 people were killed, as "the worst attack on the Jewish community since the Holocaust".

Mr Lammy told reporters on Monday: "This is a painful day for the Jewish community across this country and across the diaspora."

He added: "It is a day of deep reflection and pain thinking about October 7, the worst attack on the Jewish community since the Holocaust.

"And of course, thinking about the many hostages that are still held in Gaza and their loved ones and their pain.

"And particularly we think of Emily Damari, the British hostage, and her family have no word of her fate or how she is doing."

In a statement marking the anniversary, Sir Keir had reflected on the killings and reiterated his appeal for a ceasefire in Gaza.

‘How is this going to end?’ - James O’Brien reflects on one year from the October 7th attacks

"Men, women, children and babies killed, mutilated and tortured by the terrorists of Hamas," the Prime Minister said.

"Jewish people murdered whilst protecting their families, young people massacred at a music festival, people abducted from their homes.

"As a father, a husband, a son, a brother, meeting the families of those who lost their loved ones last week was unimaginable.

"Their grief and pain are ours, and it is shared in homes across the land.

"A year on, that collective grief has not diminished or waned."

He said that "we must unequivocally stand with the Jewish community and unite as a country" and "never look the other way in the face of hate".

Tomer Keshet reflects on Hamas abductions one year on from October 7th

Sir Keir also said that "we must also not look the other way as civilians bear the ongoing dire consequences of this conflict in the Middle East", as he reiterated his calls for ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon and "for the removal of all restrictions on humanitarian aid into Gaza".

Israel faces ongoing international criticism over its wartime conduct, with two world courts examining its actions.

The war in Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, displaced most of the territory's 2.3 million population and sparked a humanitarian crisis that has led to widespread hunger.

It has also left the tiny coastal enclave ravaged beyond recognition as US-led ceasefire efforts have repeatedly sputtered.