Netanyahu Office Releases October 7 Schedule Amid Negligence Claims

Former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot alleged that the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received intelligence regarding unusual activity in Gaza starting around 3:30 a.m. on October 7, three hours before Hamas-led attacks began. Eisenkot asserted that Netanyahu's intelligence aide had access to the same reports available to the heads of the IDF and Shin Bet. While not claiming Netanyahu was personally informed, Eisenkot characterized the failure as profound negligence and argued the Prime Minister is responsible for an environment where critical information did not reach him.

In response to ongoing scrutiny, the Prime Minister's Office published Netanyahu's official schedule from the morning of October 7. The record states Netanyahu was first informed of the attack by his military secretary, Maj.-Gen. Avi Gil, at 6:29 a.m. It details a conversation with then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant between 7:30 a.m. and 8:22 a.m. while Netanyahu traveled to the Kirya, followed by a broad security assessment at 9:55 a.m. with top military and intelligence officials.

The published schedule omitted a previously reported 16-minute delay by Maj.-Gen. Gil in waking the Prime Minister after the Shin Bet provided notification at 6:13 a.m. Netanyahu has consistently maintained he was not informed of the attacks before they started.