Netanyahu Files Defamation Lawsuits Over Claims He Received October 7 Warnings
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is suing Haaretz, Yedioth Ahronoth, and Channel 12 News for defamation over claims he received October 7 warnings.
Jerusalem, 29 September, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday instructed his attorneys to file defamation lawsuits over media reports claiming he received warnings before Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack.
Among the defendants are Haaretz, Shlomi Eldar, Uri Misgav, Yedioth Ahronoth, Channel 12 News, Nadav Eyal, Barak Ravid, and Attila Somfalvi. The combined lawsuits reportedly seek nearly NIS 3 million (roughly $1 million) in damages.
One lawsuit targets Haaretz over a report alleging that United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan warned Netanyahu about an impending Hamas operation days before the massacre. Netanyahu has denied that such a conversation took place.
A second lawsuit concerns reports that then-Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel warned Israel of an impending “terrible operation.” Netanyahu has said he neither met nor spoke with Kamel before October 7.