Reports Indicate Netanyahu Waited Three Hours to Speak With IDF Chief on October 7

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not speak with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi until 9:45 a.m. on October 7, which was three hours after the Hamas attacks began. According to reports from KAN News and The Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu received phone calls regarding the ongoing attacks at 6:29 a.m. and 6:40 a.m. but he did not request to speak with Halevi during or immediately after those calls. The Jerusalem Post reported that one reason for the delay was that Netanyahu waited for his chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, to arrive at military headquarters, though Braverman was delayed by rocket siren alerts at his home.

In a subsequent Instagram post, Netanyahu claimed that IDF officers deliberately did not wake him for over an hour because they feared he would activate the air force and prevent the massacre. He stated that everything would have been different if he had been woken. Additionally, The Jerusalem Post noted that former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar ordered staff to update Netanyahu at 5:15 a.m. but staff did not do so until 6:13 a.m. because they felt there was no imminent emergency. Netanyahu's personal military secretary, Maj. Gen. Avi Gil, also chose not to wake the prime minister based on the belief that no large scale threat was imminent.

Outlets with different political leanings framed the timing of these communications differently. A center leaning source focused on the public outcry and the description of the delay as unfathomable. A center right leaning source provided more detailed context regarding the internal military communications and the prime minister's defense of his actions.