Netanyahu Told Comptroller He Was Kept in Dark on Hamas Attack Plans

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented his account of events leading up to the October 7th Hamas attack to State Comptroller Matanyahu Engelman over four hours, revealing details from closed security discussions and intelligence assessments. The first part of a series based on these proceedings highlights a significant gap between the assessments presented to political leadership in the weeks before the attack and Hamas's actual preparations.

In a meeting on August 31, 2023, Netanyahu questioned security chiefs about Hamas, asking for recommendations and if a direct message could be sent to Yahya Sinwar indicating his "head is on the way." Then-head of Military Intelligence, Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, responded that Sinwar "knows." Netanyahu expressed concern about the "stagnation" and warned that threats heard at the time might not be mere bravado, stating, "If it's not bravado, it will meet us soon, we will meet it during the holidays."

Netanyahu also claimed to the comptroller that he was not informed about Hamas's "Jericho Wall" operational plan, which he learned after the massacre was developed as early as three months after Operation Guardian of the Walls in 2021, with readiness existing in 2022. He asserted that information about this plan and Hamas's training for it was never passed to him, stating, "From information that arrived in hindsight, it emerges that Hamas developed the idea and the capability into a practical plan without him being updated."

Further discussions in September showed a disconnect. On September 12, less than a month before the attack, an IDF assessment suggested Hamas was not interested in a broad military confrontation. On September 21, a Shin Bet report indicated Sinwar's goal was to restart a "regulation process" and that he had "no interest in deteriorating into a broad military confrontation." Similarly, on September 27, a Shin Bet assessment stated Hamas "really does not want to enter a fighting round." However, Netanyahu found Hamas's demands for regulation "delusional."

On October 1, less than a week before the massacre, an IDF assessment described the border disturbances as a "managed crisis by Sinwar" driven by civilian-economic motives, aiming to achieve concessions. Netanyahu warned that Hamas might perceive Israel as "pressured and giving in to them," which could lead to further pressure. The report concluded by noting a Shin Bet intelligence document from October 3, just four days before the attack, which stated that "renewing understandings between Israel and Hamas based on the principle of security quiet in exchange for easing holds potential for preserving stability in the Strip, possibly even for a long time."