President Isaac Herzog addressed the Great Synagogue of Rome on Wednesday evening as the names of the slain hostages to be returned on Thursday - Oded Lifshitz, Shiri Bibas, Ariel Bibas, and Kfir Bibas - were announced.
Herzog concluded his official visit to Italy on Wednesday with an address at a historic gathering of the Jewish community at the Great Synagogue of Rome.
"These days are a wake-up call—not just for our nation, but for the entire family of nations. In the face of this evil—led by the evil Iranian regime—we must stand together, resolutely, firmly, and courageously," he told the congregants.
He thanked them for their support and solidarity with the Israeli people and addressed their deep concerns for the difficult days ahead.
Pain and sorrow
“Yesterday, it became apparent to all of us that the days ahead will be especially heart-wrenching."
"They will hold both pain, grief, and sorrow—as the bodies of hostages are returned to us tomorrow—but also relief and even hope, as living hostages, our brothers, are freed on Shabbat."
"These heart-wrenching, overwhelming days also highlight two absolute truths."
"The first: it is our highest duty to bring every last one of our hostage brothers home. Every moment that they are in the hands of the terrorist monsters is a direct threat to their lives. We must use every means and every measure to bring them home urgently. Every single one of them."
"The second is the understanding that we really are dealing with absolute and cruel evil. An evil that murders, tortures, and kidnaps mothers and babies, motivated by a murderous jihadist ideology. An evil that butchers whole families. An evil that is continuing its crimes against humanity at these very moments."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Israeli public to brace themselves for tomorrow, only an hour before the announcement was made.
"Tomorrow will be a very difficult day for the State of Israel. A shocking day. A day of sorrow. We are bringing home four of our beloved hostages, fallen soldiers. We embrace the families, and the heart of an entire nation is torn asunder. My heart is torn. Yours too. The heart of the entire world will break because here we see who we are dealing with, what we are dealing with, what monsters we are dealing with. We grieve, we hurt, but we are also determined to ensure that something like this will never happen again."
Leader of the Opposition Yair Lapid commented, "[Our] heart is broken and in pain. Ariel and Kfir and Mother Shiri and with them Oded Lifshitz. We hoped so much. Until we ran out of words."
Benny Gantz, head of the National Unity Party, commented: "Tomorrow, we will all hold our breath together. Let's grieve together. We should pause the infighting—nothing will happen; it can wait. We will embrace our dear families as a strong and united people. They deserve it, and we deserve it."