Former Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar Sues Netanyahu for Defamation Over October 7 Attack Claims

Ronen Bar, the former head of Israel’s domestic security agency Shin Bet, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding accusations of his responsibility in the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack. The lawsuit, submitted on Wednesday, comes ahead of Israel’s elections on October 27, 2026. Bar claims that Netanyahu lied to protect himself and accused him of 'criminal failures' related to the attack in a 134-page court document. Bar stated that he contacted Netanyahu’s military secretary as soon as he became aware of a potential attack, although he did not have Netanyahu’s direct phone number. Netanyahu has countered that he was not alerted by Bar on the morning of the attack and suggested that Bar could have called him directly. Bar's lawsuit alleges that Netanyahu made false accusations to deflect attention from his own responsibility for the events of October 7, attributing the increased threat from terrorist organizations in Gaza to Netanyahu's policies over the years. In response to Bar's claims, Netanyahu's Likud party issued a statement questioning Bar's seriousness and suggesting that lives could have been saved if Bar had called in time. Bar resigned from his position as head of Shin Bet in June 2025 amid criticism following the attack, while maintaining he had informed Netanyahu of the threat beforehand. He is seeking 3 million shekels (approximately $968,500) in damages. The lawsuit follows comments from Netanyahu’s former military secretary, Avi Gil, who alleged that the prime minister’s office had falsified records related to the October 7 attack, including altering the time of a key phone call. Reports indicate that Netanyahu was warned of the impending attack by Egypt’s intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel, both through a phone call days before the attack and in a previous visit in September 2023. The October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of at least 1,221 Israelis, with 251 taken captive. In retaliation, Israeli actions in Gaza have reportedly resulted in over 74,300 Palestinian deaths since then.