Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today (Sunday, 9 November 2025), at the start of the Government meeting [translated from Hebrew]:
“Hamas announced yesterday that it is holding the body of lt. hadar goldin, of blessed memory. We are due to receive the body this afternoon. This will, of course, immediately begin with the verification of his identity.
Lt. Hadar Goldin fell in a heroic battle in Operation Protective Edge 11 years ago. His body was taken hostage by Hamas, which refused to return him all this time. Throughout this period, Israeli governments made great efforts to bring him back. Naturally, this has been amidst the great agony of his family, which will now be able to give him a Jewish burial.
We said at the start of the war that we would bring back all of the hostages, without exception. 255 were taken hostage, including four who were taken hostage previously. We have returned 250 so far. We will bring them all back. We also have a legacy from the founding of the state – from the War of Independence to the War of Redemption – to return our soldiers who fell in battle, and we are doing that. Sometimes it takes a long time, like over 40 years in the battle of Sultan Yacoub. We have returned two of the fallen soldiers from there so far, and there is still one more soldier. This is a great obligation of ours, both to our soldiers and to our security personnel. We are working on returning Eli Cohen for a Jewish burial. We do not relent on this. Therefore, this is a sacred value. It expresses the mutual responsibility we have to the citizens of Israel, and first and foremost to the soldiers and fighters of Israel.
Today, we will submit to the Government a major assistance plan for Be’er Sheva, totaling NIS 1.2 billion. This includes strengthening many areas that are important to the citizens of Be’er Sheva: A light rail that will reach the hospital, which we approved in a separate authorization, and a new hospitalization building for Soroka. We are assisting there with cyber, R&D, development, and livelihood. This will, of course, strengthen the entire Negev. This aligns with the plan I have been leading for years, together with my colleagues in Israel’s governments, to strengthen the South by integrating government infrastructure and encouraging the private sector.
At the same time, today we are submitting additional assistance for career and regular service military personnel. The emphasis is on career personnel, although regular soldiers also benefit. This includes an economic aid fund, grants, incentives, benefits for apartment purchases, and we are also declaring a national day of appreciation for those serving in the IDF. We know how much they deserve this, especially in light of their exemplary performance and great sacrifice over the past two years in the War of Redemption.
Another piece of good news – Israel’s credit rating was raised today by the S&P agency, and there are two reasons for this: One – it must be understood that Israel’s geopolitical standing has strengthened significantly. It has strengthened significantly compared to what it was before October 7. Israel is perceived as stronger, and the greatest geopolitical and security threat to it – Iran – has definitely been ‘reduced,’ in the language of the professionals. Iran suffered a great blow, Israel’s power increased, Iran’s power decreased, and the existential threat that it posed to us and the entire region – that threat has been greatly pushed back. This is one basis for what is currently happening, although in my opinion, the rating agencies have not yet fully internalized the major change that has occurred here.
Something else has happened here: During the war, when our economy was supposed to shrink and investments in Israel, especially in high-tech, were also supposed to shrink – the exact opposite happened. Israel’s economy is growing. We will see this growth even more sharply in the coming year. Unemployment in Israel is at a historical low – less than 4%. Israel’s debt-to-GDP ratio is one of the lowest in the Western world – it is 68%. I want us to understand this – this is a very great achievement compared to, say, the economies of France, Italy, the United States, and Britain. Israel’s debt-to-GDP is lower than theirs, even though we have just gone through a difficult war.
We are also witnessing the strengthening of the Shekel against the Dollar – 13% this year. I’m not even talking about the stock market – what is happening on the stock exchange is, generally, is leading almost all the stock exchanges in the West. This is after two years of war. In other words, Israel’s economy is very strong, and it will continue to be strong under the responsible policy that we will continue to lead.”