Netanyahu Family Faces Lawsuits Over October 7 Warning Claims

Sara Netanyahu, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is facing a defamation lawsuit seeking 2.55 million Israeli new shekels, or about $1.17 million, over comments suggesting that opposition politician Yair Golan had advance knowledge of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks. Golan, a former Israel Defense Forces deputy chief of staff and leader of the centre-left Democrats party, was praised for responding rapidly after the attacks began. He travelled to southern Israel, volunteered to return to military service and helped rescue people near the Nova Music Festival, where the deadliest massacre of that day occurred. In a recent interview with the right-wing broadcaster Channel 14, Sara Netanyahu questioned how Golan could have arrived so quickly and implied that his presence suggested prior knowledge of the attacks. Golan said she refused to retract the remarks and responded by threatening legal action. In a social media video, he accused the Netanyahu family of spreading dangerous lies as political pressure increased on the prime minister. The allegations reflect a broader “betrayal theory” promoted by supporters of Benjamin Netanyahu, who claim that senior defence and security officials withheld information about the impending assault and kept the prime minister uninformed. Netanyahu has repeatedly said that he should have been awakened earlier, arguing that he would have ordered an immediate military response. He has rejected calls for an independent investigation into the failures that allowed the attacks to occur. Opposition parties, including Golan’s Democrats and former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party, are promising an independent inquiry after the October 27 election. The dispute has also intensified following a Haaretz report that UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed warned Netanyahu of a possible Hamas attack about a week and a half before October 7. Netanyahu denied that such a conversation occurred and instructed lawyers to prepare a libel action, while Haaretz stood by its months-long investigation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he intends to sue Haaretz over a report alleging that United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed, known as MBZ, warned him about an impending Hamas attack 10 days before October 7, 2023. Netanyahu described the report as fabricated, false, and politically motivated, and said his lawyers would also pursue the journalists who wrote it, Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yaval. According to Haaretz, then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar communicated through an intermediary that he was preparing a “huge surprise” and that Israel should expect “an earthquake.” MBZ and his aides allegedly interpreted the message as a warning of a large-scale attack and passed the information to Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency. The report says Shin Bet dismissed the threat, after which MBZ allegedly raised the matter directly with Netanyahu, who also disregarded it. The UAE has declined to comment on the allegations, saying it does not address media reports or speculation about conversations between leaders. Netanyahu denied speaking with MBZ and said reviews of his official call records found no evidence of such a conversation. He also claimed the report was part of an election campaign by Israel’s political left. The dispute comes as Netanyahu seeks to retain power ahead of October Knesset elections and faces a strong challenge from former military chief Gadi Eisenkot. The article also notes the wider consequences of October 7, when Palestinian fighters killed at least 1,195 people in southern Israel and captured approximately 251 others. Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza has killed at least 73,669 Palestinians, according to the article. Netanyahu separately blamed Palestinian political figure Muhammad Dahlan for the Haaretz report, but Dahlan’s representatives rejected the allegation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed lawyers to begin defamation proceedings against Haaretz after the newspaper reported that United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan warned him shortly before the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack that Hamas was preparing a major operation. The report, based on extracts from a forthcoming book by journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval, cited three foreign senior sources and a Palestinian adviser to the Emirati president. It said an Emirati representative visited Netanyahu’s office with a secure phone in late September 2023 and that Sheikh Mohammed described the planned operation as an “earthquake,” warning that it could cause widespread bloodshed and destabilise the region. Haaretz reported that Netanyahu responded calmly, believed Hamas intended to act in the West Bank, and reassured the Emirati leader that Israel was prepared. It also alleged that Netanyahu did not inform the heads of Shin Bet and Mossad or the army chief of staff, and that Sheikh Mohammed later discussed the conversation with then-CIA Director William J Burns. Netanyahu’s office categorically denied that any warning had been given, calling the report part of a “sinister plot.” Netanyahu and his Likud Party accused Haaretz of politically timed reporting intended to interfere in Israel’s election campaign. Haaretz rejected the defamation claim, describing the article as an extensively researched investigation and accusing Netanyahu of trying to silence criticism. The dispute comes as Israel prepares for a 27 October general election widely viewed as a referendum on Netanyahu’s leadership. Critics have long accused him of failing to respond adequately to warnings before and during the 7 October attack, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage. Netanyahu has opposed an independent public inquiry. The UAE did not confirm the specific conversation but said intelligence is communicated between relevant Israeli and Emirati entities. Four opposition leaders called for an investigation and said Netanyahu and his coalition partners were unfit to remain in office.