Netanyahu claims officials deliberately did not wake him during October 7 attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack would not have occurred if senior security officials had woken him in the early hours of that morning, alleging they deliberately withheld information because they feared he would order a preemptive military response. The comments, made in a series of interviews this week, have intensified a fierce national debate over responsibility for the deadliest day in Israel's history. In a live Instagram interview on September 2, Netanyahu stated that officials chose not to alert him because "they knew exactly what I would do." He asserted that had he been woken, he would have immediately ordered the entire Israel Defense Forces to full alert, warned communities near the Gaza border, and authorized lethal force against anyone approaching the fence. "It's so obvious that all of this could have been done. This has been hidden from the public," Netanyahu said. The prime minister elaborated on his reasoning in a separate interview with Channel 14, claiming security chiefs operated under a "fear of a miscalculation" and believed Hamas was deterred.