‘If my security woke me up, it would not have happened’: Netanyahu’s big October 7 claim

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack would not have unfolded as it did if security officials had woken him before the early-morning assault.In an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, Netanyahu was asked whether the Hamas-led attack would have happened had he been alerted during the night.“You want the truth? Yes. It would have looked completely different. Completely different, I think,” he replied, according to The Times of Israel.Netanyahu later went further, saying: “You asked me what would have happened if they had woken me up — it would not have happened.”He clarified that Hamas had already prepared the assault, but blamed the failure partly on what he described as the security establishment’s prewar belief that the militant group had been deterred.“There was never any underestimation [on my part]… As for [Hamas’s] desire to destroy us, [to underestimate] that is such a disconnect from reality,” Netanyahu said.The comments come as tensions continue across the wider Middle East. Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran was prepared to return to a June ceasefire agreement with the US if Washington also returned to its commitments.Meanwhile, two ships were reportedly targeted in and around the Strait of Hormuz. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre said a tanker was struck by three projectiles while leaving the Persian Gulf, while another incident involved a tanker and military forces off Oman. No casualties were reported in either incident.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.