Benjamin Netanyahu knows the answer to that question – how to talk to the devil.

The Israel prime minister has come as close as most of us can imagine.

That’s why last week he announced: “In the past week, we saved many worlds. We brought back 110 souls.”

He was taking about hostages captured by Hamas, a proxy for Iran. It was also the end of the ceasefire in the Oct. 7 war.

Netanyahu reflected on the difficulty of the hostage negotiations, stating, “I asked myself: How do you hold discussions with the devil, a person who has no value for human life? But I was convinced that there was a way to rescue people. …

“We held tough negotiations, and we applied pressure on the brokers to improve the plan. The efforts bore fruit, and we doubled the number of people released.”

Quoting the Talmudic dictum, “He who saves a single human life has saved the whole world,” Netanyahu continued, “We released 86 Israeli civilians, children and women, teenage boys and girls, mothers and grandmothers, as well as dozens of foreign citizens.”

The prime minister explained: “These are not just names – these are souls, of boys and girls who we brought home, who we brought back to life. We will support them and take care of them. I embrace them all. Welcome, those who have left hell. Welcome home.”

Regarding discussions with families of hostages who remain in Gaza, Netanyahu said, “My wife and I met some of the families of the hostages who remain in Hamas captivity. I promised them: We will do everything in order to bring them home. We will do everything in order to bring everyone home.”

The prime minister then discussed meeting with individual freed hostages, including Maya Regev, whose leg was severely injured during the attack at the Nova Music Festival before she was captured and taken to Gaza. When Netanyahu was asked why the hostage releases ended, he placed the blame squarely at the feet of Hamas.

“Hamas violated the agreement, and I said that if it violates the agreement, we will return to war. That is what we did, and the pressure will continue to grow,” he said.

Concerning international pressure, he said, “There is international pressure; I do not deny that. But what I am doing is creating an international space to deal with this pressure, and speaking with leaders every day. I am presenting the justice of our path.”

Netanyahu sent a message to residents of the Jewish state: “We will bring back security both in the North and the South. … We are committed to bringing security back to the citizens of Israel.”

When asked about the controversial statements that Netanyahu was given opportunities to approve the elimination of Hamas leaders, such as Yahya Sinwar, and refused, the prime minister responded that it would not be responsible to reveal all of the information he received from security officials at the time.

“When the circumstances allowed it, we eliminated many leaders, both of Hamas and of other terror organizations, and we will complete the task now,” Netanyahu explained.

I believe he will.

For once, in 75 years, he must.

It’s fortunate that Netanyahu is in Israel now – as prime minister. It’s practically a miracle. He’s a statesmen for our time. That’s what Israel needs. This is a war like no other Israel has faced. It needs to be a war that is not subject to a truce of any kind. The end must be unconditional surrender by all of Hamas – because, as of now, Israel faces three enemies on their border who don’t accept peace.

First is Hamas, then there is Hezbollah, and lastly there is the Palestinian Authority. What do they have in common? They don’t accept the existence of the Jewish state. None of them does. They all reject Israel’s very right to exist. Think of what that means to the tiny state of Israel. And that includes even the Palestinian Authority. All three groups maintain it in their charters.

Every day, these enemies of Israel chant it from their secret homes and from their streets.

Imagine that coming from your next-door neighbors. It has gone on too long. Two of those entities have declared war on Israel, and it faces a possible third and simultaneous uprising by the Palestinian Authority.

God forbid!

Just look at the map … and pray.

This article was originally published by the WND News Center.

This post originally appeared on WND News Center.