Netanyahu faces fresh allegations he ignored warnings about Oct. 7 — right before an election

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing new allegations that he ignored warnings from Arab allies about a potential attack. These allegations have surfaced just weeks before a critical election that will determine Netanyahu's political future.

According to Maj. Gen. Avi Gil, a former senior aide to Netanyahu, the Israeli leader was warned internally about the potential for war ahead of the October 7 attacks. Gil, who served as Netanyahu's military-secretary from July 2021 to May 2024, said that for weeks, documents were being submitted to Netanyahu, and the defense establishment was describing a reality in which Israel's enemies recognized the divisions in Israeli society as a perceived weakness.

Gil's comments, reported by Egypt Independent, add to growing pressure on Netanyahu. He stated that Israel's security establishment understood that the country's adversaries saw protests sweeping across the country and growing fractures within society as an opportunity, and that this was communicated at every level. There was no specific warning about a massive attack from Gaza, CBC News reported.

Brief written by urgent.news from CBC News, Egypt Independent — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.