Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Thursday released a detailed timeline of his actions during the first hours of the October 7 Hamas attack, following recent reports that the office says presented an inaccurate picture of the prime minister’s conduct that morning.
According to the timeline, Netanyahu received his first update from his military secretary at 6:29 a.m., informing him that an attack was underway from the Gaza Strip. At 6:44 a.m., during a second update with the military secretary, Netanyahu asked why earlier intelligence provided to him had contained no indication of anything unusual. He also requested that officials examine whether a broad reserve mobilization was necessary and whether Hamas’s senior leadership could be targeted for elimination.
At 7:30 a.m., after the prime minister’s convoy was prepared, Netanyahu departed for the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv. During the drive, he spoke with the defense minister, who told him that there was still no clear picture of the situation. Netanyahu then instructed that a situation assessment be convened under his leadership in the Kirya’s underground command center.
Netanyahu arrived at the Kirya at approximately 8:00 a.m., according to the Prime Minister’s Office, while Shin Bet records listed his arrival time as 8:22 a.m. At 8:40 a.m., the defense minister convened the IDF chief of staff and the head of the Shin Bet to formulate a clearer assessment of the situation ahead of their meeting with Netanyahu.
Between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m., Netanyahu requested and received intelligence updates and ongoing reports from the battlefield through the military secretariat team.
One of the central details highlighted in the timeline concerns a Shin Bet situation-assessment document prepared by the head of the agency at 5:15 a.m. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu’s military secretary received that document for the first time only at 9:47 a.m.
At 9:55 a.m., Netanyahu convened a situation assessment in the Kirya command center attended by the prime minister, the defense minister, the IDF chief of staff, the Mossad director, the Shin Bet director, the national security adviser and the head of the IDF Operations Directorate.
During the meeting, Netanyahu ordered the border with Gaza sealed completely in an effort to prevent hostages from being taken into the Gaza Strip and to stop additional terrorists from entering Israel. The Prime Minister’s Office said Netanyahu also rejected an IDF recommendation for a partial reserve mobilization and instead ordered a full mobilization.
Netanyahu additionally instructed that a war order be issued and directed the security establishment to prepare for the possibility that a northern front could also open.
Following the conclusion of the situation assessment, Netanyahu held a smaller security consultation with the defense minister and the IDF chief of staff.
The Prime Minister’s Office said the publication of the timeline was intended to present the sequence of events and decisions made by Netanyahu during the first hours of the October 7 attack amid the recent reports surrounding his actions that morning.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
