 "Israel’s Oppn leader Lapid claims Netanyahu ignored warnings of Hamas attack; PMO denies")
Brigadier General Avi Gil, military secretary to the Israeli Prime Minister briefed Benjamin Netanyahu and Opposition leader Yair Lapid on August 21, 2023 over security concerns, warning that Israel’s enemies, including Iran, Hezbollah and terrorist groups in Gaza and the West Bank had identified “weakness on the Israeli side,” Lapid told to an independent inquiry commission, probing the government’s failure on October 7 on Thursday.
However, the Prime Minister’s Office denied Lapid’s claims, accusing him of lying for claiming that Netanyahu disregarded these warning signs before October 7.
“Yair Lapid is lying again. Prime Minister Netanyahu did not receive any warning about the war in Gaza — not a month before and not even an hour before October 7. The opposite is true and the protocols prove it,” the PMO said in a statement as per Times of Israel.
In his testimony before an independent civilian commission of inquiry, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said that IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi had attempted to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss the national security implications of the deepening divide in Israel over the judicial overhaul but was refused.
According to Lapid, the IDF Chief resorted to writing a letter to the PM, outlining the potential dangers to make it clear that he had issued warnings that were subsequently ignored.
The war between Israel and Hamas erupted when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel and rampaged through army bases and farming communities, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. The militants are still holding 107 hostages, about a third of whom are believed to be dead, after most of the rest were released during a November cease-fire.
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