Israeli opposition leader Lapid: Netanyahu ignored repeated warnings about Oct. 7

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Former Prime Minister and opposition leader Yair Lapid told an independent civilian commission of inquiry that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could have prevented the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion and massacre.

On Thursday, Lapid testified before the commission panel, which included groups representing survivors and victims of the October 7 terror attack. He claimed that Netanyahu had been briefed by security officials on multiple occasions but failed to take action.

Lapid also said Netanyahu's policies failed to deter Israel's enemies to the point they saw “weakness and opportunity.”

There were “repeated strategic warnings of an eruption of violence and the loss of deterrence,” Lapid told the commission.

“It is not true that the political system was not alerted to the October 7 disaster. For months, the prime minister and cabinet ministers received a series of severe and unprecedented warnings, and did nothing,” Lapid stated, adding that he had received a security briefing from Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar that terrorist organizations were readying for an onslaught.

Lapid added: “From the middle of 2023, there were more and more voices within the terrorist organizations who said that the moment they had been waiting for had arrived, and these voices appeared in the intelligence assessments, and in discussions in the IDF, Shin Bet and Mossad,” according to what Bar told him.

The Yesh Atid party leader said he specifically asked Bar “if these warnings were also brought before the prime minister and cabinet ministers, and the answer was: ‘Of course they were.’”

“President [Isaac] Herzog also received updates regarding the growing security risk and expressed this in his talks with the prime minister,” Lapid noted.

On Aug. 21, 2023, Lapid participated in a joint briefing with Netanyahu’s military secretary, Brig.-Gen. Avi Gil. At the time, Gil informed them that the Iranian regime and terror groups in Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza “all identified weakness, an internal divide, tensions, and a loss of preparedness in the army, alongside an emerging crisis with the Americans.”

“The prime minister – and here I am giving only a personal impression, so it can be disputed – seemed bored and indifferent to the issue, and did not comment on it,” Lapid claimed.

Following the briefing with Gil, Lapid said he viewed classified intelligence material provided to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that indicated that deterrence had indeed eroded.

One warning, in particular, “was unequivocal: Israeli deterrence has eroded dramatically; our enemies think they have a rare opportunity to harm us,” Lapid said, adding that it showed that Israel was “at the greatest level of danger” less than a month before the Oct. 7 attack.

Lapid told the commission that he had viewed the situation as so dire that he held a press conference on Sept. 20, warning that Israel was facing a "multifront confrontation" and that "recent events at the Gaza border are precisely the kind that have led to rounds of fighting."

The opposition leader also testified that IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi tried to schedule a meeting with Netanyahu about the national security repercussions of the divisions in Israel over the judicial reform, but was refused. Instead, Halevi communicated his concerns to Netanyahu in writing, warning of the impending dangers.

“The only reason for sending such a letter would be to document an unanswered security warning,” Lapid opined.

Netanyahu knew Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad saw “an opportunity,” Lapid said. “He knew it was the government’s responsibility to act on the warnings and did not do so.”

Lapid also condemned the military establishment, noting that “instead of acting, it waited for the political echelon’s instructions,” which he said was “inexcusable."

There is “no doubt that a prepared army and an alert political echelon" could have prevented the Oct. 7 Gaza invasion, Lapid claimed.

In response, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) accused Lapid of “lying again.”

Netanyahu “did not receive any warning about the war in Gaza – not a month before and not even an hour before October 7. The opposite is true and the protocols prove it,” the PMO stated.

“Lapid, who brought in workers from Gaza and gave free gas to [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah while promising that this would prevent war, is the last one who can preach in matters of security,” the PMO stated, referring to the 2022 U.S.-brokered maritime deal with Lebanon that Lapid signed during his time as interim prime minister.