Israeli PM claims security officials deliberately kept him asleep during Oct 7 attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused top security officials of intentionally failing to wake him on the morning of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, escalating political tensions as Israel prepares for competitive general elections later this year.

The premier's comments coincided with a high-profile legal dispute between his wife, Sara Netanyahu, and opposition leader Yair Golan over conspiracy claims surrounding the assault.

What specific claims did Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu make?

Speaking during a live Instagram broadcast and a recent podcast interview, Prime Minister Netanyahu alleged that the defense leadership and former Shin Bet security chief Ronen Bar deliberately refrained from alerting him in the early hours of the invasion to prevent a preemptive military escalation.

"Why didn't they wake me? Because they knew that I, as prime minister of Israel, would immediately have ordered to put the entire army on alert, to wake up all the towns [on the Gaza border]," Netanyahu stated, claiming that earlier intervention would have contained the assault.

The premier's statements followed a television interview on the pro-government Channel 14, in which Sara Netanyahu insinuated without evidence that the Democratic Party leader Yair Golan had prior knowledge of the attack. Citing Golan's rapid arrival in southern Israel on October 7—where the retired major general personally rescued multiple civilians from the Supernova music festival—Sara Netanyahu claimed Golan was "already dressed and ready" at dawn while others remained uninformed.

How did opposition leaders and the political establishment respond?

Golan forcefully rejected the accusations, issuing a pre-litigation warning letter demanding a public apology within 24 hours and a donation to Supernova festival survivors, threatening a NIS 2.5 million ($825,000) defamation lawsuit if she fails to comply. Sara Netanyahu responded with a counter-suit threat through her attorney, demanding NIS 1 million ($330,000) and alleging Golan engaged in a campaign of falsehoods.

According to The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post, former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, currently leading the opposition Yashar party and seen as a chief contender in the upcoming election, condemned the claims as a "mad conspiracy of betrayal" designed to incite political division and evade governmental accountability for the state's security failure.

Polling conducted for Israel's Channel 13 indicates that 40 percent of the Israeli public, including 63 percent of voters within the ruling right-wing coalition, believe internal treason contributed to the October 7 intelligence breakdown.