Dozens of survivors and relatives of victims of the October 7 massacre are demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu release complete transcripts, recordings and logs documenting security discussions held in the period leading up to the Hamas attack and on the morning of the massacre.
In a letter sent to the prime minister Tuesday, they wrote: "We will not accept that the truth about this grave failure remains locked in a safe, buried, concealed, distorted and replaced by a version designed to serve those whose responsibility is under scrutiny. We demand that you immediately order the safes in the Prime Minister's Office to be opened and the materials submitted for review by the military censor and released to the public, in accordance with the law."
The signatories include former hostages, bereaved family members and others affected by the October 7 attack. Among them are Yocheved Lifshitz, who was abducted to Gaza and whose husband, Oded, was murdered in captivity; former hostage Ditza Heiman; Dikla Shamriz, whose son Alon was abducted and later mistakenly killed by IDF troops in the Gaza Strip; and Carmit Palty Katzir, whose father, Rami, was murdered in the massacre and whose mother, Hanna, was abducted.
Other signatories include Einav Zangauker, Hadas Kalderon, Danny Elgart, Maayan Sherman, Rani and Ayala Metzger and Vicky and Yehuda Cohen.
The appeal follows a series of investigative reports published in recent weeks. Over the weekend, Ronen Bergman and Yuval Rubovitch reported in Yedioth Ahronoth and ynet on what they described as Netanyahu's selective presentation of events in a 55-page account he submitted to the state comptroller.
In addition, Avi Gil, Netanyahu's former military secretary, described an alleged attempt by the prime minister's chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, to change the recorded time of a phone call in an official transcript from the morning of the massacre. The allegation was first reported by journalist Nadav Eyal in July 2024.
"The recent investigations raise serious suspicions of falsification of official documents and tampering with evidence," the letter said.
"These are compounded by reports that approximately 30 classified transcripts were removed from the Prime Minister's Office and that the original records of security discussions were concentrated in safes at the Prime Minister's Office.
"These original materials, which could disappear or be tampered with at any moment, are essential for establishing firsthand what was said in real time and determining the reliability and completeness of the published records and transcripts."
The signatories are demanding that Netanyahu immediately order the safes opened, allow an independent examination of the original records and submit the materials to the military censor for review before their release to the public.
"We cannot bring back those who were murdered, nor can we erase the massacre and the abduction of our loved ones," they concluded. "But we will not accept that the truth is buried as well. Open the safes. Release the original transcripts and recordings. Let the truth speak before it is lost."
The investigation awaits a decision; Tzachi Braverman
According to Bergman and Rubovitch's investigation, senior officials in the Prime Minister's Office took a series of steps during the opening days of the war to ensure that records of security and war Cabinet discussions would be prepared by the prime minister's staff, with only a single copy kept in secure safes in Jerusalem.
The report linked those measures to several other developments, including the alleged falsification of the transcript of Netanyahu's second phone call with Gil on the morning of October 7.
It also described how officials in the Prime Minister's Office, other than the military secretary, recruited female soldiers and officers who had previously served in the office to help prepare what the investigation characterized as Netanyahu's carefully constructed version of events.
Under the direction of senior officials in the Prime Minister's Office, a 55-page document was prepared and presented by Netanyahu as his complete account of events. He subsequently submitted it to the state comptroller.
A series of investigations published by ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth in recent weeks found that the document, which Netanyahu presented as part of his effort to establish the truth and provide transparency, contained what the reports described as extensive attempts to cover up events, manipulate facts, distort the record and, in some cases, make outright false claims.
Separately, retired Maj. Gen. Gil, who served as Netanyahu's military secretary both before and after the October 7 massacre, publicly alleged for the first time in an interview with Channel 12 on Thursday that at least one official record from the morning of the attack had been altered by the Prime Minister's Office.
Gil identified chief of staff Tzachi Braverman as the person behind the alleged alteration.
The matter remains under investigation and is awaiting a decision, which is not expected before the elections.