Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a complete sealing of the Gaza border only at 9:55 a.m. on October 7, more than three hours after he was first informed that an attack was underway from the Gaza Strip, according to a new timeline released by the Prime Minister’s Office.
The chronology, published Thursday evening in response to what the office described as “inaccurate reports,” is not identical to the diary of Netanyahu’s movements that his office had previously released.
Gallery
New PMO timeline says Netanyahu ordered Gaza border sealed more than three hours into attack
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
One discrepancy concerns his arrival at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv. The earlier diary said Netanyahu traveled there between 8 and 9 a.m., while the new timeline says he arrived “at around 8.” Shin Bet records, however, put his arrival at 8:22 a.m.
The new account also shows that Netanyahu’s order to hermetically seal the Gaza border came at 9:55 a.m., nearly three hours after television footage had already shown pickup trucks carrying Hamas terrorists inside Sderot.
Former senior security officials who were involved in the events of October 7 have recently challenged Netanyahu’s claim that he was not awakened before the attack because officials wanted to avoid a “miscalculation” with Hamas.
The timeline of events on October 6 and 7, they argue, shows that Netanyahu himself had on several occasions instructed officials to avoid military moves against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran in order to prevent such a “miscalculation,” and had used that same term in closed discussions.
According to the timeline released by the Prime Minister’s Office:
6:29 a.m. — Netanyahu’s military secretary first informs him that an attack is underway from the Gaza Strip.
6:44 a.m. — In a second update, Netanyahu asks why nothing had appeared in the intelligence provided to him beforehand. He asks whether a large-scale reserve call-up is required and whether Hamas’s senior leadership can be targeted.
7:30 a.m. — Netanyahu leaves for the Kirya after his convoy is prepared.
During the drive, Netanyahu speaks with the defense minister, who tells him there is still no clear operational picture. Netanyahu instructs that a situation assessment be convened in the underground command center.
Around 8 a.m. — Netanyahu arrives at the Kirya, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. Shin Bet records list the time as 8:22 a.m.
8:30-9:30 a.m. — Netanyahu requests and receives intelligence updates and ongoing reports from the field from his military secretariat.
8:40 a.m. — The defense minister convenes the IDF chief of staff and Shin Bet director to formulate a picture of the situation ahead of the meeting with Netanyahu.
9:47 a.m. — Netanyahu’s military secretary receives, for the first time, the document summarizing a Shin Bet situation assessment held at 5:15 a.m.
9:55 a.m. — Netanyahu convenes a situation assessment in the command center with the defense minister, IDF chief of staff, Mossad director, Shin Bet director, National Security Council chief and head of the IDF Operations Directorate.
Netanyahu during a situation assessment at the Kirya later on October 7
(Photo: IDF)
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu at that meeting orders the Gaza border to be sealed completely in order to prevent additional infiltrations and the transfer of hostages into Gaza.
The office also says Netanyahu rejects an IDF recommendation for a partial reserve mobilization and instead orders a full call-up. He also directs the military to issue war orders and prepare for the possibility of a northern front.
At the end of the meeting, Netanyahu holds a smaller security consultation with the defense minister and IDF chief of staff.
The publication of the new chronology comes amid renewed debate over what Netanyahu knew in the hours before and immediately after the Hamas-led assault began, and over the decisions taken by Israel’s political and security leadership as the scale of the attack became clear.
The differences between the newly released timeline and the diary previously published by the Prime Minister’s Office are likely to add to scrutiny over the official record of Netanyahu’s movements and decisions that morning.