Report: Before Oct. 7 Netanyahu Ignored Hamas Threat and Rejected Assassination Plans for Top Terror Leaders

Benjamin Netanyahu, Ma’ayan Toaf (GPO)

In a scathing condemnation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Channel 12 News reported that he knew – or at the very least should have known – that the Hamas terrorist organization was planning a massive attack before it occurred. On October 7, 2023, Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists murdered more than 1,000 people, including children, overran and destroyed a number of kibbutzim and IDF (Israel Defense Forces) bases. Entire families were wiped out, many burned alive, and more than 200 people were taken hostage.

Following the October 7 Hamas terror massacre and as the scale of the security failure became apparent, Netanyahu moved to safeguard his lifelong reputation as Israel’s premier defense leader, charged Channel 12. In response to the Hamas assault, he abandoned long-held policies of restraint and strategic patience – including the practices of responding to quiet with quiet, favoring financial incentives over targeted eliminations, prioritizing defensive measures over offensive operations, and tolerating both rocket attacks and border provocations.

The report included statements from a number of people who served in Israel’s security and defense apparatus before the October 7 massacre who revealed that they reported on the warning signs of an impending attack.

“The white vans were something that was routine. We had a 300-meter axis into the strip where ‘Hamasniks’ in uniform would walk around. There were incidents of people crossing the fence and this was something that happened all the time. We always said that if they wanted, they could,” said Natalie Franks, who served as an observer over Gaza activities in the IDF’s Gaza Division from 2016-2018.

“The concept is not that the intelligence didn’t know, but that Israel, which knew the reality happening in the region, did not act actively,” Zvika Hauser, the former chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, told Channel 12 News.

“Every Friday after the prayers we will bring the young men and women of Gaza to the fence, we will finance an event for them, it should end with a run to the fence, to cross it. At each point there will be dozens of Nakhba men. They should meet the IDF on the batteries, kidnap a soldier and return. The ‘Al-Shabaab’ terrorists will run to the kibbutzim, they will already know what to do,” the late Hamas terror leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar once said.

According to chnnel 12, Benjamin Netanyahu rejected calls from security leaders to assassinate Yahya Sinwar long before the October 7 massacre, but he demurred.

One former Shin Bet (Israel’s anti-terror General Security Service) senior operative told Channel 12, “We made live models including airplanes in the air and proved that at a given moment we can do it. From the moment of approval between two and three weeks. We were never given permission. For years we strengthened this ability, Bibi [Netanyahu] knew and did not approve. When you come and tell him we have the ability, he tells you to prepare. You are done preparing, he says keep it. He does not give permission. I maintain readiness and it costs me a lot and he doesn’t approve.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s issued a statement denying the Channel 12 News report.

“No Hamas plan for a mass raid on Israeli territory was presented to the Prime Minister,” it said. “A plan of a raid from the tunnels was presented to him, which he thwarted by building the underground barrier. It was Netanyahu who led the thwarting of senior Hamas officials when he extended Operation ‘Guardian of the Walls’ in an attempt to eliminate [Hamas leader] Muhammad Daf, and when he pushed for the elimination of Baha Abu al-Ata in November 2019.”

“The intelligence officials’ assessment, even before the outbreak of the war, was that Hamas was deterred and could be encouraged into long-term peace through economic permutations,” it added.