Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused security officials of intentionally failing to wake him on the morning of October 7 blitz, a day after his wife claimed an opposition figure had advance knowledge of the blitz.
Netanyahu is heading into tightly contested elections later this year and faces sustained criticism over responsibility for the security failures surrounding October 7, 2023.
While the prime minister previously claimed officials refrained from waking him, he is now alleging the decision was deliberate.
"Why didn't they wake me? Because they knew that I, as prime minister of Israel, would immediately have ordered to put the entire army on alert, to wake up all the towns... This has been hidden from the public," Netanyahu said during an Instagram broadcast.
In a separate interview, Netanyahu blamed the military high command and former Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, asserting they withheld alerts to avoid a military escalation.
Conspiracy row
The remarks followed a television interview by his wife Sara on Channel 14, in which she claimed opposition figure Yair Golan was aware of the blitz plans beforehand.
Golan, who heads the centre-left Democrats party and rushed to southern Israel on October 7, threatened a 2.5-million-shekel ($830,000) defamation lawsuit unless she issues an immediate apology.
"Sara Netanyahu spread a false conspiracy in an attempt to rewrite October 7, turning those who went out to save lives into traitors," Golan said.
Former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, a leading election challenger, condemned the claims as a "mad conspiracy of betrayal."
An August poll showed 40 percent of Israelis and 63 percent of right-wing coalition voters believe internal treason contributed to the October 7 surprise blitz.
