Netanyahu says he received no warning of Oct. 7 attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Wednesday that he received no advance warning of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack, saying that security chiefs had repeatedly assessed the terrorist organization as deterred in the months and days before the assault.

In a Likud statement posted to his X account on Wednesday, Netanyahu said he was first informed of the attack at 6:29 a.m. that morning. The statement alleged that officials who saw warning signs overnight did not alert him, police, local security teams, kibbutzim, soldiers along the Gaza border or attendees at the Supernova music festival.

“Had Prime Minister Netanyahu been informed in real time, everything would have looked different,” the statement said.

Citing official minutes that Netanyahu submitted to Israel’s state comptroller, Likud said security chiefs repeatedly maintained that Hamas sought an accommodation and should receive humanitarian concessions to preserve calm.

The statement quoted a May 31, 2023, intelligence report as saying, “Hamas is looking for new arenas in order to keep the Gaza Strip stable.” A July 23, 2023, report, it said, identified Lebanon as the principal arena of potential escalation and included no scenario of escalation from Gaza.

Likud also quoted Military Intelligence Research Division head Amit Sa’ar as saying on Oct. 1, “Sinwar wants to return to calm.”

An Oct. 3 Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) assessment sent to Netanyahu said, according to the statement, that “security calm in exchange for concessions offers the potential to maintain stability in the Strip, possibly even over an extended period.”

The statement also credited Netanyahu with ordering the ground offensive in Gaza despite pressure from then-U.S. President Joe Biden to limit Israel’s response to airstrikes.

Likud said Netanyahu overcame opposition at home and abroad, including from former officials, to lead the capture of Gaza City and Rafah, secure the release of all hostages, “down to the very last one,” and carry out the pager operation against Hezbollah. It also credited him with “the elimination of Nasrallah, Sinwar and Deif; the capture of Mount Hermon’s summit; the elimination of Khamenei; the elimination of Iranian nuclear scientists; and, above all, saving Israel from annihilation by Iranian atomic bombs.”