Yair Golan warns Sara Netanyahu of $825,000 suit for airing Oct. 7 conspiracy theory

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife, Sara Netanyahu, has made a controversial claim that an opposition figure, Yair Golan, was aware of the Hamas attack plan before it occurred. This remark, made in a television interview on Monday, has sparked outrage across Israel's opposition parties and highlighted the deep political polarization ahead of the upcoming elections on October 27.

In the interview, aired on Channel 14, Sara Netanyahu accused Golan of being dressed and ready at dawn on October 7, while the rest of the country was unaware of the Hamas plans. Golan, who heads Israel's centre-left Democrats party and served as the former deputy military chief of staff, responded by threatening to sue Sara Netanyahu for 2.5 million shekels (around $830,000) unless she issues an apology within 24 hours.

The opposition has condemned Sara Netanyahu's "vile and deceitful" remarks, branding them as an attempt to rewrite history and smear the heroism of those who responded to the October 7 attack. Gadi Eisenkot, a former army chief and a frontrunner to challenge Netanyahu, slammed Sara Netanyahu's comments as an attempt to stoke hatred and perpetuate Netanyahu's rule.

The October 7 attack, carried out by Hamas militants, resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people and the taking of 251 hostages, 44 of whom have since died. In response, Israel launched a massive offensive in Gaza, resulting in at least 73,462 casualties according to Palestinian health ministry figures.