Netanyahu blocking inquiry into Oct. 7 events, says former Israeli intelligence officer

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "is doing everything" to prevent the establishment of an official commission of inquiry into the events of Oct. 7, 2023, former military intelligence officer Barak Seri said.

In a Saturday post on the US social media company X, Seri said Netanyahu was "warned and alerted" ahead of the attacks, but that "he ignored it all."

"This is why Netanyahu is personally blocking the establishment of an inquiry commission," he said.

Earlier Saturday, Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Netanyahu received warnings about a possible Hamas attack ahead of Oct. 7, 2023, but did not convene a meeting to discuss them.

Citing unnamed security officials, the outlet said Netanyahu did not share the warnings with the Shin Bet, Mossad or the Military Intelligence Directorate, known as Aman.

Meanwhile, US magazine The Atlantic reported that former Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel secretly visited Israel 11 days before the Oct. 7 events to alert Tel Aviv about a possible Hamas attack.

There has been no official Egyptian comment on the claim.

Following the Oct. 7 events, Israel launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing nearly 74,000 people, injured around 175,000 others and turned the entire enclave into ruins.

Despite a ceasefire that took effect in October 2025, Israel has continued its daily attacks on Gaza, killing more than 1,400 Palestinians and injuring nearly 5,000 others, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.