After backlash, Netanyahu deletes post blaming security officials for Oct. 7 attack

ISTANBUL

Amid outrage, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday apologized and deleted a post in which he sought to blame security officials for the surprise Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

"I was wrong. Things I said following the press conference should not have been said and I apologize for that," Netanyahu said on X.

He gave "full backing" to the heads of security services, and those who are fighting on the frontlines. "Together we will win," he wrote.

In a post late Saturday, the prime minister claimed he had not been warned by security chiefs about an impending Hamas attack.

“All the security services, including the head of military intelligence and the head of the Shin Bet, were of the opinion that Hamas was deterred and wanted to come to a settlement,” he said.

"This assessment was submitted again and again to the prime minister and the cabinet by all the security forces and intelligence community, up until the outbreak of the war."

His comments, which came after a joint press conference with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Minister Benny Gantz, drew sharp criticism.

Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid said “Netanyahu has crossed a red line" and that his remarks would weaken the army.

Head of National Unity party Benny Gantz, who joined Netanyahu's unity government after the Hamas attack, also criticized the statement.

"When we are at war, leadership must show responsibility, decide to do the right things and strengthen the forces. Any other action or statement harms the people's ability to stand and their strength. The prime minister must retract his statement," he said.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said the problem was not the "one-point warning," but the "entire misconception, the containment policy, and the imagined deterrence."

"But all this is not now. There will be plenty of time later for a poignant reckoning. Now our soldiers, all together, are fighting shoulder to shoulder. Only in unity will we win!" he wrote on X.