National Security Council denies getting suspicious intel on Hamas hours before attack

The National Security Council denies a report that the IDF investigation into the hours leading up to the Hamas invasion on October 7 found that the council received alerts on suspicious Hamas activities that night.

According to the report by Yedioth Ahronoth, at 2 a.m. on the morning of October 7, the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate sent updates to the chief of staff and to the Prime Minister’s Office intelligence officer about Hamas operatives activating Israeli phone SIMs, a sign they could be set to attack. At the same time, IDF intelligence noted that Hamas had done the same thing during an exercise the year before.

An hour later, the report said, intelligence officers updated the NSC situation room about the worrying signs from Gaza, including an unspecified “meaningful indication.” It said that at 3:55 a.m., the NSC received another update that Hamas seemed to be moving into emergency mode.

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi held a situational assessment at 4:00 a.m. about the developments in Gaza. The PMO received the main findings.

The NSC rejects the report. “Contrary to Ronen Bergman’s false publication in Yedioth Ahronoth,” it says in a statement, “no warning was given to the NSC in the early morning of October 7.”

The report and the denial come as the PMO is being investigated over alleged attempts to falsify the records of conversations in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office ahead of the Hamas attack, including blackmailing the aforementioned intelligence officer to coerce him to change the minutes of phone calls.