Netanyahu says Israel is waging a 'war of resurrection'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel was fighting a “war of resurrection” and would continue until achieving its goals, as Israelis marked the anniversary of the Hamas attack.

“This is the war of our existence — the ‘war of resurrection’. This is what I would like to officially call the war,” Netanyahu said during a Cabinet meeting.

His comment provoked a response from a group representing the families of the hostages held in Gaza, who said they wished to “remind the prime minister that there is and will be no resurrection without the return of all the hostages.”

Netanyahu also said that Israel was changing the security reality in the region to ensure an attack like that of October 7 does not happen again.

"We are changing the security reality in our region; for the sake of our children, for the sake of our future, to ensure that what happened on the seventh of October will not happen again. Never again," Netanyahu said, according to his office.

In a statement earlier, Netanyahu vowed that Israel would keep fighting until the “living and dead” hostages were returned, Hamas is overthrown in Gaza and residents of the country’s north and south could go back to their homes.

“Since that black day, we are under attack on seven fronts,” Netanyahu said, referring to Oct. 7, 2023. He said counterattacking Iranian-backed groups “is a necessary condition for securing our future.”