Netanyahu says security officials deliberately didn't wake him on October 7
On Tuesday, the Israeli prime minister insisted that Hamas's attacks on the morning of October 7, 2023, would have been contained if he had been woken earlier – but that his security officials intentionally failed to do so.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused security officials of deliberately failing to wake him on the morning of Hamas' October 7 attacks, following his wife's claim that an opposition figure knew of the assault in advance. The prime minister is in the midst of a tight election campaign and has faced criticism over the security shortcomings that led to the devastating October 7 incident.
In recent days, Netanyahu has started to suggest that the decision not to wake him was intentional, stating that if he had been alerted earlier, he would have immediately mobilized the entire army and mobilized towns along the Gaza border. This assertion parallels statements he made in a podcast interview where he blamed the military's top brass and Ronen Bar, then head of the Shin Bet security service, for not waking him, claiming they believed Hamas would not launch an attack and knew exactly what he would have done had he been informed.
His comments followed his wife Sara's claim in a television interview that former deputy military chief Yair Golan, head of Israel's center-left Democrats party, was aware of the Hamas attack plan before it occurred. This revelation has sparked outrage from the opposition and prompted a lawsuit threat from Golan. Sara Netanyahu alleged that Golan was "already dressed and ready" at dawn on October 7, while others, including the prime minister, remained unaware.
Golan responded by threatening to sue Sara Netanyahu for 2.5 million shekels (approximately US$830,000) if she did not issue an apology within 24 hours and provide compensation to the Nova music festival victims, whom he accused of being falsely smeared as traitors. Gadi Eisenkot, a former army chief and a leading contender to challenge Netanyahu in the upcoming election, dismissed Sara Netanyahu's accusations as part of a "mad conspiracy of betrayal."
Recent polls suggest that around 40% of Israelis, including 63% of voters in the current right-wing coalition, believe internal treachery contributed to the October 7 attack, which resulted in 1,221 deaths and the capture of 251 hostages, 44 of whom have since died. In response to the attack, Israel launched a large-scale offensive in Gaza, resulting in over 73,462 casualties according to the Palestinian health ministry's figures.
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