The controversy surrounding the events leading up to October 7 remains intense: The Prime Minister’s Office revealed tonight that for the first time, staff within the military secretariat had received information the evening before the attack indicating that Hamas might be planning an assault.
The office clarified that an update about the security situation in Gaza had been delivered overnight to Military Secretary Avi Gil. However, after evaluating the information, it was decided that “this was not an urgent event,” and as a result, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not awakened.
“The intelligence officer in the Prime Minister’s military secretariat received a message the night before October 7 presenting several indicative signs, immediately forwarded it verbatim to the Military Secretary—but given the determination in the message that it was not an urgent event, he chose not to wake him from his sleep,” the statement said.
This disclosure followed a report by Channel 12 News’ Amit Segal, which claimed that IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi had criticized the intelligence officer for failing to inform Prime Minister Netanyahu about Hamas’ preparations prior to the attack. Halevi also accused him of withholding crucial information.
The Prime Minister’s Office responded to these claims, stating, “It is very unfortunate that the Chief of Staff chooses to publicly attack a principled and reliable officer in the IDF in an attempt to shift the responsibility for the October 7 failure onto his subordinates.”
The office further explained that Netanyahu was only informed of the situation at 6:29 a.m., after Hamas had launched the deadly assault on border communities. The statement also expressed dissatisfaction with the IDF, revealing that the intelligence officer was not questioned, nor invited to the IDF’s investigation presentations. He was even denied permission to attend the event, with approval only granted on the day of the conference, after the presentations had concluded.
In closing, the Prime Minister’s Office reiterated its full confidence in the military secretariat and accused the Chief of Staff of attempting to deflect responsibility onto lower military ranks.
{Matzav.com}