Families of Israelis killed or abducted on October 7 have accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of enabling the Hamas massacre through years of deliberate policies that preserved the group’s rule.
A 12 page dossier unveiled on Tuesday argues the atrocity was no simple intelligence failure but the product of choices made under successive Netanyahu governments. The allegations land as Israel faces mounting condemnation over its conduct in Gaza and the West Bank.
Dossier Lays Out Years Of Alleged Failures
The report, presented by relatives of those killed or kidnapped, cites repeated government decisions to reject strikes on Hamas leaders.
It also points to the facilitation of Qatari funding for Gaza and the consistent dismissal of warnings about the group’s growing capabilities.
The document claims the group was treated as a useful counterweight to the Palestinian Authority rather than a threat to be confronted.
“calculated risk”
“They attacked because they could. Israel’s governments, which held the reins of power for nearly two decades, allowed it,” the dossier claims.
The families argue that each warning was weighed and set aside by leaders who believed the arrangement served Israel’s interests.
The document contends the approach amounted to a sustained strategy rather than a single lapse in judgment.
Grieving Relative Delivers Emotional Charge
Merav Svirsky, a relative of October 7 victims, delivered the most stinging criticism at the press conference where the dossier was launched.
“It could’ve been prevented, but the prime minister chose not to act,”
“was not merely a failure at a single moment. It was a choice to repeatedly ignore the warnings.”
She pointed to recent reports that Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed personally warned Netanyahu roughly ten days before the attack that Hamas was preparing a major assault.
According to Haaretz, Netanyahu downplayed that warning and did not pass it on to his security chiefs.
The reported Emirati intervention has intensified questions about what the prime minister knew in the days before the assault.
Her remarks resonated with other bereaved relatives who have spent months pressing for a full accounting of the failures.
West Bank Allegations Deepen The Pressure
Israeli rights group B’Tselem has separately accused Netanyahu’s government of pursuing a sweeping campaign against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
“project of elimination”
Its new report, also published on Tuesday, says Israeli authorities and settlers are systematically dismantling Palestinian life through violence, movement restrictions, economic pressure, displacement and territorial takeover.
B’Tselem and Amnesty International have separately accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, citing mass killing, displacement and the destruction of conditions necessary for civilian life.
The twin publications landed on the same day, amplifying scrutiny of a government already under fire at home and abroad.
The rights group argues the measures it documents amount to a deliberate reshaping of the territory at Palestinian expense.
Pretext Claims Fuel Growing Outcry
The accusations add to a rising tide of condemnation of the Israeli government over its actions in both territories.
Among the gravest claims now circulating is the allegation that Netanyahu deliberately allowed the October 7 assault to unfold as a pretext for a wider campaign.
The allegations remain deeply divisive within Israel, where the events of that day continue to shape politics, security debates and public grief.
Pressure has also been building internationally, with the genocide findings by prominent rights organisations amplifying calls for scrutiny.
The Human Toll Behind The Storm
Hamas led militants killed around 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages during the attack on October 7, 2023.
Israel’s subsequent response has killed more than 73,700 Palestinians in Gaza and left much of the enclave in ruins.
For the families behind the dossier, those numbers form the backdrop to a demand for accountability that shows no sign of fading.
Advocates say only an independent accounting of the decisions taken before the attack can answer the questions the dossier raises.