Israel is using today as a propaganda opportunity, so it’s essential we set the record straight.
It’s undeniable that Netanyahu knew October 7 was coming. This has been confirmed by Israeli military probes, leaked intelligence, and reporting by outlets including The New York Times, Haaretz, The Times of Israel, The Guardian, the BBC, The Atlantic, and The Wall Street Journal.
Israeli military intelligence obtained a detailed Hamas blueprint codenamed “Jericho Wall”, over a year before the attack. It described breaching the border fence at multiple points, overrunning bases and communities, and taking hostages. Israeli leaks later confirmed that Israel had other versions of the plan circulating since 2018.
An Israeli officer in Unit 8200 wrote multiple assessments of Hamas drills on simulated IDF outposts. She noted that senior Hamas commanders were observing the drills, the plan was operational, and Israel will likely not get a long warning.
Israeli military intelligence sent Netanyahu several letters between March and July 2023, warning him of the dangers. On top of that, multiple foreign countries warned him—and Mr Security failed to act.
UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed warned Netanyahu in late September 2023 that Yahya Sinwar was planning a major operation. Netanyahu later tried to pressure the UAE into saying that no such warning had been given. Egyptian authorities warned Israel “something big was coming” just three days before the attack.
Despite these warnings, Israeli authorities ignored key signs of an attack on October 6 and 7, including the activation of sim cards and unusual rocket movements. No one raised the alert or attempted to raise security along the border. Military and intelligence chiefs have publicly accepted responsibility for the failure. Netanyahu has not.
Roughly half of the 1,500 troops assigned to the area were away on the morning. Despite this vulnerability, and the detailed warnings, the Nova Festival was not only allowed to go ahead, it was given a one-day extension. That extension made it run into October 7.
Officers in the Gaza Division had initially opposed the extension, due to the lack of security, and they were overruled. As a result, 364 festival goers were killed and dozens were abducted.
It took Israeli forces three and a half hours to respond and they were not directed to the worst hit areas. It took them nearly six hours to reach Nir Oz (after the attackers had already left), nearly six hours to reach Kfar Aza and Sufa, seven hours to reach Nahal Oz, and seven hours to reach Be’eri. Remember Israel is a small place.
When the troops finally arrived, they responded with the Hannibal Directive which involved using force to stop Israelis being taken hostage, even if it meant killing them. Huge numbers of buildings and vehicles were destroyed that day—something Hamas did not have the firepower to achieve.
Hannibal orders were given at multiple sites—the Erez crossing, Re’im base, the Gaza Division headquarters, and the Nahal Oz outpost. At 11:22am, a broader order went out on the division network: “Not a single vehicle can return to Gaza.” Units were later told to stop returns to Gaza “at all costs”.
A Southern Command source told Haaretz that everyone knew the vehicles could be carrying kidnapped civilians or soldiers, and could not tell who was inside. A house was destroyed by an Israeli tank, even though it contained 14 hostages. Most of them died.
On the evening of October 7, Qatar’s prime minister called the Mossad chief. He said Hamas was ready to release all civilian hostages in exchange for the IDF not entering the strip.
Israel rejected the offer and continued to refuse one hostage deal after another, much to the dismay of the families. This led to many avoidable hostage deaths which were caused by Israel’s own bombs.
For the longest time, we were told “release the hostages” and this all stops, but the moment the last hostage was freed, the genocide did not stop. The slogan changed from “release the hostages” to “fuck around and find out” because the violence was never about the hostages.
When Israel tells you that October 7 was an atrocity carried out by Hamas, it’s omitting that Netanyahu funnelled $1 billion to Hamas because he wanted this moment. He wanted the excuse to decimate Gaza and push ahead with the Greater Israel project. Zionists are now bragging about how October 7 accelerated their plans for Gaza by 20 years.
Netanyahu was willing to kill his own people on October 7 as pretext for a genocide. That’s not only terrorism, it’s treason, and it’s yet another reason this man belongs behind bars.