Former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff Dan Halutz has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of concealing warnings ahead of the October 7 attack and laid ultimate responsibility for the deadly security failure on him.
Halutz was responding to a Haaretz report alleging that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed had warned Netanyahu about a major operation being planned by Hamas ten days before the incursion. Netanyahu reportedly downplayed the threat and did not alert Israel’s security chiefs.
Netanyahu’s office called the report an “absolute lie,” while the UAE neither confirmed nor denied the allegation.
In an interview aired by Israeli radio station 103FM on Sunday, Halutz said he believed the reported conversation had indeed occurred and claimed there were multiple indications that Netanyahu knew more than he disclosed.
“What could be simpler for the Emirati prince than to say there was no conversation if there was no conversation?... There are so many supporting reasons to understand that the man knew far more than he told those responsible for solving the problems afterward. Because he was incapable of solving the problems. He knew and concealed it,” Halutz said.
“I don’t know how to get inside the mind of this psychopath. What goes through his head? Only he knows,” he added when asked why Netanyahu had allegedly failed to act.
According to Haaretz, Israel’s internal security agency Shin Bet received a separate warning that then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing an “earthquake” and a “terrifying operation,” and Netanyahu was briefed on it. During a subsequent security assessment, the agency warned that Israel was “on a collision course” and recommended either significant offensive action or stronger defenses around Gaza and the West Bank, but no decision was made.
Halutz acknowledged that the security failure was “total, broad, and included everyone,” but argued that Netanyahu bore ultimate responsibility for failing to bring the meeting to a conclusion.
“You can constantly level accusations at the supporting actors in the film. But in the end, if the film is bad, you blame the lead actor,” Halutz said.
The Hamas-led assault killed almost 1,200 people in Israel and triggered the war in Gaza, which has resulted in the death of more than 74,000 Palestinians.
The controversy comes ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for October 27. The prime minister, who faces a strong challenge from former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, has described the Haaretz report as “politically motivated” and part of the “left’s election campaign.”
Netanyahu claimed that a review by the National Security Council and his military secretary found no record of the purported call with the UAE leader, and instructed his lawyers to file a libel lawsuit against Haaretz and the journalists behind the report.