October 7 attack shapes Israel's elections and fuels political blame

September 4, 2026 at 09:20 PM1 min

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The October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, which killed 1,139 Israelis and took about 250 captive, is set to play a pivotal role in Israel's late October elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces pressure over his government's failures ahead of the attack, while critics accuse him of deflecting blame onto others.

Key Facts

The October 7, 2023 Hamas-led assault killed 1,139 Israelis and led to about 250 being taken captive.
Israeli elections are scheduled for late October, with the attack's memory playing a defining role in the campaign.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial for corruption, and losing the election could make it harder for him to avoid prison.
Netanyahu claims senior defence officials deliberately chose not to wake him before the attack, saying he would have put the military on alert.

Political Fallout

Netanyahu's failure to hold an independent inquiry into his government's failings ahead of the attack continues to dog him ahead of the elections. Critics, including electoral rival and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, have accused Netanyahu of ignoring warnings about Hamas in the run-up to October 7. Former Chief of Staff and leading opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot has made an independent inquiry into the failures of October 7 a central plank of his party's electoral platform.

Deflection Tactics

Netanyahu has begun to push the claim that senior defence officials deliberately chose not to wake him up before the October 7 attack after they began to see suspicious activity in Gaza. His wife Sara Netanyahu has cited opposition leader Yair Golan's widely praised response to the attack as apparent evidence of his foreknowledge of Hamas's plans. Neve Gordon, an Israeli academic at Queen Mary University of London, said the Netanyahus are adding to conspiracies already in the public arena, likening the tactic to strategies employed by populists worldwide.