Lapid tells civilian inquiry Netanyahu was warned prior to Hamas attack

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said he received warnings regarding Hamas activity in the Gaza Strip as early as July 2023, when Israel was dealing with internal divisions regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul.

Lapid uses this as evidence that the government must have known of such warnings.

"During the months leading up to the disaster, the prime minister and cabinet ministers received a series of serious, unprecedented warnings. From the middle of 2023 there were more and more voices within the terrorist organizations that said that the moment they had been waiting for had arrived," he said in his testimony, delivered before an independent civilian commission of inquiry into Israel's failures of 7 October.

Lapid says Netanyahu failed to act despite knowning Israel was in danger.

Responding to these statements, Netanyahu's office accused Lapid of lying.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu did not receive any warning about the war in Gaza - not a month before and not even an hour before October 7," the office's statment says. "The opposite is true and the protocols prove it.

"“Lapid, who brought in workers from Gaza and gave free gas to [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah while promising that this would prevent war, is the last one who can preach in matters of security."