The Prime Minister's Office on Thursday evening released an official, detailed timeline of Benjamin Netanyahu's activities during the opening hours of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, amid ongoing public debate about his response that morning.
The office stated the timeline was being published "following inaccurate reports published recently," aiming to present the documented record of events as they unfolded.
According to the released schedule, Netanyahu received his first briefing about the attack from Gaza at 6:29 AM from his military secretary. Fifteen minutes later, at 6:44 AM, a second update took place during which the prime minister questioned why no early warning had appeared in the intelligence briefings he had received. He simultaneously requested an assessment of the need for large-scale reserve mobilization and asked about the feasibility of targeted assassinations of Hamas leadership.
At 7:30 AM, Netanyahu's convoy departed for the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv. During the drive, he spoke with the defense minister, who informed him that a clear picture of the situation had not yet emerged. Netanyahu instructed that a situation assessment be convened in the underground command center known as "the Pit."
The prime minister's arrival at the Kirya was recorded at approximately 8:00 AM (though Shin Bet security service records show 8:22 AM). Between 8:30 and 9:30 AM, Netanyahu received ongoing intelligence updates from the military secretary's team. Meanwhile, at 8:40 AM, the defense minister convened a meeting with the IDF Chief of Staff and the head of the Shin Bet to formulate a situation assessment ahead of the main discussion.
A significant detail in the timeline indicates that only at 9:47 AM did the prime minister's military secretary receive, for the first time, the situation assessment document that the Shin Bet chief had prepared earlier that morning at 5:15 AM.
Around 9:55 AM, the main situation assessment convened in the Pit with Israel's top security leadership: the defense minister, IDF chief of staff, Mossad director, Shin Bet chief, National Security Council head, and Military Intelligence chief. During this meeting, Netanyahu made several critical decisions: he ordered a hermetic sealing of the border to prevent the smuggling of hostages and entry of additional terrorists, rejected the IDF's recommendation for only partial reserve mobilization and instead ordered full mobilization, and instructed that war orders be issued while simultaneously preparing for a potential northern front. Following the broader meeting, the prime minister held a smaller security consultation with the defense minister and chief of staff.
