Israel: Netanyahu Manipulated Pre-October 7 Warnings to Suit Himself, Investigation Finds

TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu manipulated security briefings and warnings received before the October 7, 2023 attack to serve his own interests, according to an investigation by the daily Yedioth Ahronoth and its affiliate Ynet. The report says he altered key context and omitted important records in an effort to restore his pre-war standing.
The newspaper compared a 55-page dossier released by Netanyahu in February against original official transcripts, meeting minutes and sworn testimony. The review found systematic deletions and altered wording regarding urgent warnings from intelligence officials in the months before the cross-border assault.
The dossier’s claim: The February document portrays the prime minister as a consistent advocate of targeted killings of senior Hamas commanders, while depicting military and intelligence chiefs as hesitant figures who favored keeping Gaza quiet.
What the records show: According to the newspaper, the original records indicate the opposite. Netanyahu repeatedly rejected proposed military measures, insisting Hamas had been deterred.
April 2023: Then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and then-military chief of staff Herzi Halevi formally recommended targeted strikes against Hamas leaders in Gaza.
May 2023: Bar warned that a full-scale military conflict in the region was inevitable and urged preparations for preemptive opening strikes. Netanyahu rejected the plans, saying a “strong, balanced defense system” was in place.
August 2023: Bar issued an alert warning that Israel’s defenses were actively eroding, and advised urgent preemptive options.
September 10: Less than a month before the attack, Bar warned of a grave security situation with a risk of multiple fronts converging at once. In response, Netanyahu instructed security officials to keep the autumn Jewish holiday period “as calm as possible.”
The investigation also found that the dossier cites an assessment that Hamas was arming at a “moderate pace,” while no action was taken on the intelligence community’s recommendation for immediate action, even at the risk of wider escalation.