Netanyahu expresses regret for criticising Israel’s security agencies

The prime minister has backtracked on his assertion that he was unaware of the Hamas attack on October 7.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, issued an apology after receiving criticism, even from members of his own war cabinet, for a post in which he blamed the nation’s security forces for not foreseeing the Hamas attack.

Following Netanyahu’s late-night news conference on Saturday, his office stated on X, the previous Twitter platform, that “Prime Minister Netanyahu was not warned of Hamas’s war intentions under any circumstances or at any stage.”

The chief of military intelligence and the head of the Shin Bet security service, among other security authorities, concluded that Hamas had been discouraged and was seeking a settlement, according to his office’s further statement.

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Nevertheless, Israeli leaders and authorities fiercely retaliated to the post. Former Israeli defence minister and war cabinet member Benny Gantz encouraged Netanyahu to “retract his statement… and stop dealing with the issue.”

“In times of war, leadership needs to take accountability and fortify the forces to enable them to fulfil our demands.” Any other action or comment undermines the people’s resilience and strength,” he continued.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid reiterated the criticism, accusing the prime minister of “crossing a red line.”The Israeli prime minister, he claimed, “is trying to blame them, instead of supporting them, while Israeli soldiers are fighting bravely against Hamas and Hezbollah.”

Netanyahu then retracted his remarks from Sunday, acknowledging that he was “wrong” and extending a formal apologies. “I fully support each and every head of the security services. “I am sending strength to the IDF’s chief of staff, as well as to the commanders and soldiers who are fighting for our homeland on the front lines,” the writer said.

At the press conference on Saturday, Netanyahu acknowledged that the attack by Hamas was “an awful debacle,” but he refrained from blaming anyone for the unexpected attack on Israel.

“Everyone, myself included, will have to give answers after the war,” he declared.

His remarks followed earlier this month when US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul asserted that Egypt, which borders Gaza, had alerted Israel to possible violence several days prior to the strike. Netanyahu, nevertheless, called the stories regarding the particular Egyptian warning “totally fake news.”