Oct 7 anniversary puts Netanyahu’s wartime record under scrutiny

TEL AVIV

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (AFP File Photo)

Israel held official ceremonies on Oct. 5 to mark the third anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, which triggered the Gaza war, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to fend off mounting criticism over the assault ahead of a critical election.

“There will be no Hamas rule in Gaza. Anyone who was involved in the attack against us and held our hostages is living on borrowed time,” Netanyahu said during the state ceremony.

The Oct. 7 attack killed 1,221 people in Israel and saw 251 others taken hostage, according to Israeli figures. Israel’s ensuing war on Gaza has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, while large parts of the territory have been reduced to rubble and severe humanitarian deprivation continues.

Netanyahu has faced intense criticism at home over the security failures surrounding the 2023 attack, with his popularity falling to critical levels ahead of elections scheduled for Oct. 27.

Critics have accused the prime minister of prolonging the war for political reasons, even at the cost of delaying the return of Israeli hostages.

His persistent opposition to the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding the attack has also come under fire, particularly as demands for an investigation into the government and military’s handling of the crisis have intensified.

The latest controversy was fueled by a series of reports in the Israeli press alleging that the leader of the United Arab Emirates had personally warned Netanyahu about a possible Hamas attack in October 2023.

The reports triggered a political firestorm in Israel and were followed by further accounts that Egypt had similarly warned Israel of an impending Hamas assault, but that Netanyahu ignored the warnings.

Speaking at the Oct. 5 ceremony, Israeli military Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir acknowledged the army’s failure to protect civilians during the attack, pledged thorough investigations into the failures and called for renewed vigilance.

Meanwhile, a former Israeli general who served as the military’s point person for hostage negotiations at the beginning of the Gaza war said a deal to secure the release of all Israeli captives could have been reached “much earlier” than October 2025, arguing that the conflict had been unnecessarily prolonged.