Netanyahu addresses the nation: ‘With the help of God... we will win’

More than 350 Israelis killed and more than 1,800 wounded

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation in a televised address on Saturday evening following a series of meetings with the security cabinet and opposition leaders.

“We will be victorious in this war despite an unbearable price. This is a very difficult day for all of us,” Netanyahu said.

On Saturday morning, Hamas launched a large-scale attack against Israel, shooting thousands of rockets and invading Israeli territory with hundreds of terrorists, which led to at least 300 Israeli deaths and some 2,000 wounded.

“This morning, on Shabbat and a holiday, Hamas invaded Israeli territory and murdered innocent citizens including children and the elderly," Netanyahu began.

"Hamas has started a brutal and evil war… Hamas wants to murder us all. This is an enemy that murders children and mothers in their homes, in their beds, an enemy that abducts the elderly, children, and young women, that slaughters and massacres our citizens, including children, who simply went out to enjoy the holiday.”

The prime minister announced that the IDF would take revenge by destroying the capabilities of Hamas, without explicitly stating that the total destruction of Hamas would be an Israeli war goal.

“All of the places which Hamas is deployed, hiding and operating in, that wicked city, we will turn them into rubble.”

“No such revenge – revenge for the blood of a little child – has yet been devised by Satan,” Netanyahu quoted the poet Hayim Nahman Bialik.

“I embrace and send heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families whose loved ones were murdered today in cold blood and endless brutality…" Netanyahu continued.

"We are all praying for the wellbeing of the wounded and all those who are being held hostage. I say to Hamas: 'You are responsible for their wellbeing. Israel will settle accounts with anyone who harms one hair on their heads.'”

This was one of the first official confirmations that Hamas had taken hostages back into the Gaza Strip. Israel has not released any details about the number or identities of the hostages yet.

Netanyahu also praised the efforts of the IDF soldiers, police officers and other security personnel, who he called the “continuation of the heroes of the Jewish people, of Joshua, Judah Maccabee and the heroes of 1948 and of all of Israel's wars,” as well as the spirit medical personnel and the many volunteers.

The prime minister closed his address by appealing to Israel’s citizens.

“We stand together in this campaign. This war will take time. It will be difficult. Challenging days are ahead of us. However, I can promise one thing: With the help of God, the forces that we all have in common and our faith in the Eternal One of Israel, we will win.”