Netanyahu: 'Close to ending the war — but not there yet'

On the eve of the second anniversary of the October 7 massacre, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US commentator Ben Shapiro in a podcast interview that "we are close to ending the war - but not there yet," Report informs via Ynet.

In the 20‑minute interview, published overnight Tuesday, Netanyahu misstated the number of hostages, saying "what began in Gaza will end in Gaza - with the release of our 46 hostages and the end of Hamas' rule," despite 48 Israelis being held by the terror group.

He added that 20 of them are alive - the officially confirmed figure in Israel. Netanyahu opened the interview by recalling October 7 as "the most horrific event the Jewish people have known since the Holocaust," saying "everyone thought Israel was finished, but two years later we shattered the Iran axis and its branches."

With Israeli and Hamas negotiating in Cairo under US auspices to advance a Trump‑backed peace and hostage‑release plan, Netanyahu said "Hamas has not yet been destroyed, but we will get there," and warned that Hezbollah, Syria and the Houthis also have taken heavy hits.

"Israel emerged from that day as the strongest state in the region - but missions remain to complete the victory."

He praised his cooperation with US President Donald Trump, saying Trump "turned the tables" on Hamas. "Together we succeeded in putting the world before reality," he said, citing pressure on global backers of Hamas.