A bombshell report published Friday by The New York Times alleges that Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu disclosed top-secret details of a planned military strike on Iran to MK Moshe Gafni three days before it occurred. Despite Gafni not holding the appropriate security clearance, Netanyahu is said to have summoned him to the Kirya military headquarters on June 9 and briefed him on the classified operation.
This revelation took place amid a tense standoff between Netanyahu and the chareidi political factions, who were threatening to bring down the ruling coalition over proposed legislation on the military draft of yeshiva students. The timing and nature of the disclosure raise serious questions about the use of sensitive intelligence as a political bargaining chip.
The article further claims that half a year after the October 7 attacks, Netanyahu was open to ending the war with Hamas through negotiation. It states that in April 2024, he sent a representative to engage with Egyptian mediators, signaling a willingness to reach a compromise.
During one cabinet session, Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich confronted Netanyahu over whispers of an imminent ceasefire deal. “I want you to know that if you advance a capitulation agreement in Gaza, you no longer have a government. The government is finished,” Smotrich told the prime minister. Netanyahu reportedly assured him, “No, no, that’s not going to happen.”
The investigation also provides a detailed account of the chaotic early moments of October 7. At 6:29 a.m., Netanyahu received a WhatsApp message from a high-ranking IDF official alerting him that Hamas had launched a rocket assault. Moments later, in a secure phone call that was recorded, Netanyahu gave a direct order to eliminate Hamas’s leadership. “Can we take down their leadership?” he asked. Upon hearing that the IDF had hit 1,000 targets in Gaza, Netanyahu was unimpressed. “A thousand? I want five thousand,” he replied.
{Matzav.com}