Netanyahu's Aides Suspected of Altering Oct. 7 Records

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a phone call from a top general on the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, informing him that hundreds of Hamas militants were preparing to attack. Now, an investigation is underway to determine whether aides altered the official record of that call, raising questions about what Netanyahu knew of the invasion in advance, per the New York Times. Meanwhile, an aide to the prime minister has been arrested for allegedly leaking a classified document Netanyahu would later cite as evidence of Hamas' "psychological warfare." More:

• The call: Aides including Chief of Staff Tzachi Braverman are accused of altering the record to push back the time Netanyahu was first informed of the impending attack, per the Times of Israel. After resigning as military secretary in May, Maj. Gen. Avi Gil claimed a senior aide forced a transcriber to alter the transcripts, sources tell the New York Times.

• The timing: According to Haaretz, a stenographer refused Braverman's request to change the records, so Braverman changed them himself. The outlet notes Gil phoned Netanyahu at 6:29am on Oct. 7, but Netanyahu did not issue instructions and asked Gil to call him back at 6:40am, per the Times of Israel. Braverman allegedly altered the record to indicate the first phone call was at 6:40am.
• The video: Separately, a military officer who controlled access to the phone records complained to commanders that one of Netanyahu's aides might be trying to blackmail him. The officer said the aide told him he had video from the prime minister's headquarters that captured the officer in an embarrassing act, per the New York Times.
• The leak: Netanyahu's aides are also accused of leaking a memo by a Hamas intelligence officer and later obtained by Israel to German tabloid Bild. The outlet claimed the document showed Hamas was trying to manipulate hostage families. Netanyahu cited Bild's article on Sept. 8 while under heavy pressure from hostage families to agree to a ceasefire.
• Arrests: Netanyahu aide Eli Feldstein has been arrested as part of the probe into the leak "along with four unnamed officers accused of helping to procure the document" from a highly classified military intelligence database, the New York Times reports, noting Feldstein did not have full security clearance.

• Perceptions: The investigations suggest officials "used illicit means to improve how [Netanyahu] is perceived, at the expense of either the truth or national security, or both," per the New York Times. Critics say Netanyahu is distracting from his failures and prioritizing his own political survival instead of focusing on Israel's defense.
• Context: "For more than a year, Mr. Netanyahu has denied being briefed in advance about the invasion" and "avoided setting up a state inquiry to assess the culpability of Israel's military and political leaders, including himself," the New York Times reports.
• Response: Netanyahu has painted these probes as a witch hunt. They will "not yield anything whatsoever," his office said in an initial statement. Later, it suggested suspects were held "in solitary confinement for 20 days ... simply to extract false statements against the prime minister."