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Netanyahu Accused of Enabling October 7 Hamas Attack by Victim Families — AI-generated representative image: A press conference where families of Israeli October 7 victims present allegations against Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Editorial Team

A 12-page dossier argues the Gaza massacre was not an intelligence failure but a deliberate government policy under Netanyahu

Families of Israelis killed or abducted in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack have accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of deliberately enabling the massacre through years of policy that preserved the group's rule in Gaza. The allegations were presented in a 12-page dossier unveiled on Tuesday, which argues the assault was not merely an intelligence failure but the outcome of sustained government decisions under successive Netanyahu administrations.

The accusations carry significant weight because they shift the framing of October 7 from a sudden security lapse to a calculated policy choice spanning nearly two decades. By connecting government decisions on Gaza funding, military strikes and ignored warnings to the attack itself, the victims' families are challenging the official narrative that has shaped Israel's subsequent military campaign and its international standing.

Core Allegations in the Dossier

The report cites repeated Israeli government decisions to reject strikes on Hamas leaders, facilitate Qatari funding for Gaza, and consistently dismiss warnings about the group's growing capabilities. It describes Hamas as being treated as a "calculated risk" and a useful counterweight to the Palestinian Authority.

"They attacked because they could. Israel's governments, which held the reins of power for nearly two decades, allowed it," the dossier claims.

"It could've been prevented, but the prime minister chose not to act," said Merav Svirsky, a relative of October 7 victims, at the press conference. She added that the catastrophe "was not merely a failure at a single moment. It was a choice to repeatedly ignore the warnings."

Warning Signs and Prior Knowledge

Svirsky pointed to recent reports that Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed had personally warned Netanyahu roughly ten days before October 7 that Hamas was preparing a major attack. According to Haaretz, Netanyahu downplayed the warning and did not pass it to his security chiefs.

The accusations add to growing international condemnation of the Israeli government for its actions in Gaza and the West Bank, which has fueled allegations that Netanyahu deliberately allowed the October 7 assault to unfold in order to provide a pretext for a wider campaign.

Rights Groups and Casualty Figures

Israeli rights group B'Tselem has also accused Netanyahu's government of carrying out a broader "project of elimination" in the occupied West Bank. Its new report, published the same day, says Israeli authorities and settlers are systematically dismantling Palestinian life through violence, movement restrictions, economic pressure, displacement, and territorial takeover.

B'Tselem and Amnesty International have separately accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, citing mass killing, displacement, and the destruction of conditions necessary for civilian life.

Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages on October 7, 2023. Israel's subsequent response has killed more than 73,700 Palestinians in Gaza and left much of the enclave in ruins.

What Comes Next

The dossier's release has not yet prompted an official response from the Israeli government, and no formal investigation into the allegations has been announced. The families have made their case public through the press conference, but whether their claims will lead to any legal or political accountability remains unclear.