Netanyahu defends his wartime decisions in self-produced English-language interview

Following recent self-produced social media interviews conducted by his senior adviser Topaz Luk, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released another video on Monday—this time in English—aimed at countering repeated criticisms in international media. Netanyahu addressed claims that he failed to anticipate the war, that political pressure has influenced hostage negotiations and war management, and that key military decisions were made by others, not by him.

In the new video, apparently aimed at an international audience, Netanyahu is asked to respond to the claim that the war began because of his judicial overhaul and the resulting calls by some reservists to refuse service. He dismissed the allegation as “bogus,” saying: “During the judicial reform, I warned our enemies not to mistake our internal democratic debate for weakness. I said: On the day of reckoning, if we are attacked, we shall all be there, left and right — and that’s exactly what happened.”

However, Ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth previously revealed that, between March and July 2023, Netanyahu received four letters from IDF Military Intelligence warning of eroding Israeli deterrence due to deepening internal division. While Netanyahu denied that the letters included specific warnings about Hamas planning an attack from Gaza, he acknowledged that they referenced attempts by Israel’s enemies to exploit the judicial crisis. Regarding a possible invasion from Gaza, he said, “The assessment was entirely the opposite.”

Netanyahu also addressed in the video claims that former security chiefs—Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi—warned him of war in July 2023, as reported by Ynet in August. “ “It’s exactly the opposite,” Netanyahu claimed. “These are recorded meetings with the entire cabinet. They convinced the government not to worry about it. Hamas is deterred. Hamas wants workers, they want economic benefits, there’s no danger of an impending attack.”

He presented another claim, calling it “shocking," saying that: “The attack began at 6:29 a.m. on Saturday. At midnight, six and a half hours earlier, there were significant intelligence signals indicating a planned assault. They didn’t call me. They didn’t wake up the commander-in-chief. Because let me tell you, if I’d received a call, I would have acted differently — and that didn’t happen.” This contradicts a sworn statement by former Shin Bet chief Bar, who said he instructed officials to wake the prime minister’s military secretary at 5:15 a.m.

Netanyahu was asked whether he had ever seen Hamas’ “Jericho Wall” invasion plan, obtained by Israeli intelligence in April 2022. “No, we never saw it,” he said, arguing that this disproves the claim that the judicial reform sparked the war. “It was hatched by Hamas in 2022, when a leftist government was in power. It didn’t have anything to do with the judicial reform.” He also claimed that the Hamas plan was "buried," because those in charge believed that Hamas was deterred.

Later in the video, Netanyahu listed what he called “key decisions in the war” that he personally made, rejecting accusations that the military made the strategic calls and he merely took credit.

Among the decisions he said he made were: the decision to strike Hamas and prevent a northern front; the decision to operate in Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor, made that despite "objections" from senior security officials and despite an American embargo; authorizing the pager operation; taking out Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah; and the strike on Iran.

“There were questions and disagreements—some legitimate,” he added. “But I led all the major moves. Others joined in. I’m glad they did.”

Amid concerns among hostage families over opposition by far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir to proposed deals, Netanyahu was asked whether political considerations have influenced his stance. He called the claim “ridiculous,” saying, "I made hostage deals against my political partners in the coalition. Some of them voted against it. It didn’t faze me.”

However, earlier this year Ben-Gvir publicly stated he had succeeded in blocking a deal, saying, “With our political strength, we’ve managed to prevent the agreement so far.” Last year, when U.S. President Joe Biden presented a framework for ending the war, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir threatened to bring down the government, and no deal was signed.

Netanyahu pointed to his "results," saying he has freed 205 of 244 hostages, some 148 of them alive. He said of the 50 remaining hostages – 20 alive and 30 dead – “I intend to get all of them."

Amid a detailed New York Times investigation that found Netanyahu prioritized coalition stability even at the cost of a potential hostage deal, the prime minister said: “It’s not my personal political survival that drives me—it’s the survival of my country. I’ve dedicated my life to the security of the world’s only Jewish state.”

Asked to define the end goal, Netanyahu concluded: ““It’s called victory, victory, victory.” He added: “President Trump and I share the same view: ‘Peace through strength.’ First comes strength—then peace. And that’s how it will be this time too.”