Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the uproar sparked by remarks made by his wife, Sara Netanyahu, and rejected claims that there was “betrayal” surrounding the October 7 massacre.

“I’ve already been asked several times. I don’t think there was betrayal on October 7,” Netanyahu said. “There was a major failure. All the signs were there, and because of a miscalculation, not wanting to anger Hamas, they decided not to wake me and not to strike preemptively. It was a failure, but it was not betrayal, and my wife never said there was betrayal. It’s simply nonsense.”

Netanyahu’s comments followed a Channel 12 report claiming that his wife’s remarks were not a slip of the tongue, but part of a calculated campaign by Netanyahu. According to the report, a Likud official claimed the effort was aimed at distancing Netanyahu from responsibility for the October 7 failure.

Netanyahu also said during an Instagram livestream that senior IDF officials deliberately refrained from waking him on the morning of October 7, claiming they knew he would have immediately ordered the entire military to mobilize.

The controversy began after Sara Netanyahu questioned how Yair Golan was already in the Gaza border communities early on October 7 while others, including the prime minister, had not yet been informed of what was unfolding.

Golan subsequently demanded a public apology and compensation to be donated to survivors of the Nova music festival, threatening a defamation lawsuit. Sara Netanyahu rejected his demands and issued demands of her own, including an apology and NIS 100,000 in compensation, while threatening to seek NIS 1 million if he failed to comply.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)