Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 55-page account of the failures that led to the October 7 attacks “does not reflect what really happened,” his former military secretary said in an interview partially published Thursday, warning that official transcripts may have been altered.
“It’s part of the truth, but not all of it,” Maj. Gen. (res.) Avi Gil – who was serving as Netanyahu’s military secretary on October 7, 2023 – said in an interview with Israel Hayom. An excerpt of the interview was published on Thursday, with the full interview set to be released on Friday.
“What the public is being told isn’t what really happened,” Gil charged.
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Maj. Gen. Avi Gil, the prime minister’s military secretary, makes his way to a government meeting in March 2024 Credit: Yonatan Zindel/Flash90
Maj. Gen. Avi Gil, the prime minister’s military secretary, makes his way to a government meeting in March 2024 Credit: Yonatan Zindel/Flash90
Gil referred to a document that was submitted by Netanyahu to the State Comptroller’s Office on February 5. In a press release then, Netanyahu said the document “includes transcripts of security meetings and other documents covering a period of 12 years, starting with Operation Protective Edge [the 2014 Gaza War] and up to the morning of October 7.”
However, at the time, Haaretz reported that minutes and summaries of many of the discussions referred to in the document point to a manipulation of the facts, half-truths and omissions.
“There are too many lies in the air,” Gil told Israel Hayom. “I had hoped that a state commission of inquiry would be established and would investigate everything, but unfortunately that hasn’t happened, and I’m doubtful it will,” he added, explaining why he had chosen to speak out now.
The former military secretary is also expected to speak with Channel 12 News on Thursday evening.
In the excerpt published on Thursday, Gil revealed new details about the alleged altering of the record of conversations between Netanyahu and top officials. According to Gil, two weeks into the war, he began noticing that people in Netanyahu’s inner circle were “disproportionately” collecting material.
“I decided to reach out to the attorney general,” Gil recalled. “I told her that we’re at war, and that I’m not looking to blame anybody and I don’t want this to be personal. I asked her to clarify the guidelines about what’s allowed and what’s forbidden regarding stenograms, and that’s what happened,” he said.
After Gil reached out to the attorney general, Israel Police began investigating whether senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office attempted to change the protocols of cabinet meetings held during the war, as well as transcripts of phone calls made by decision-makers – including Netanyahu – during the first days of the war. One of the suspects investigated by police was Netanyahu’s chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman.
“This involves a pattern of criminal behavior by people who believe they can do whatever they please, and the chief of staff acted like someone who felt he could do anything he wanted,” Gil said.
“It could be that even back then they were working on the narrative that we see today, that the prime minister was the only one who functioned when [the October 7 attacks] started,” Gil said. “This is a grave scenario, but it’s plausible. There’s another very grave scenario,” he added.
“Every commission of inquiry that’s established should insist on receiving the full tapes and not the transcripts, because I don’t know what’s been altered,” Gil said, reiterating his concern that the transcripts do not accurately reflect reality. “I would expect the comptroller to do the same, and not rely on partial stenograms provided by the prime minister.”
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Tzachi Braverman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in September 2025. Credit: Sraya Diamant
Tzachi Braverman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in September 2025. Credit: Sraya Diamant
Gil also spoke about the warnings that Netanyahu received before Hamas’ deadly attack. While he did not confirm that Egypt warned the prime minister, as has been previously reported, he said the intelligence official’s visit to Israel had a reason.
“An Egyptian intelligence plane landed in Israel and was here for just over 60 minutes. That’s a fact. A plane like that doesn’t come here without any reason,” he told Israel Hayom. “Either somebody came to Israel on it to meet Netanyahu, or somebody came to deliver something, a message or an envelope,” he added.
“Somebody met somebody or received something, and didn’t report it,” Gil charged. “And if that happened, and it appears that it did, that has to be reported. And whoever met somebody or received something is still hiding it today.”
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Netanyahu’s Likud party responded to the outlet’s interview in a statement saying the report is “fabricated political propaganda against Prime Minister Netanyahu and Likud, aimed at bringing down the right-wing rule and to lead to a left-wing government that will establish a Palestinian state.”
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, a member of Likud, accused “all the former generals and IDF chiefs of staff” of plotting to oust Netanyahu. Speaking with Kan public radio, he said they are trying to “throw dust in the public’s eye and mislead it.”
Gadi Eisenkot, who polls indicate is the leading contender to replace Netanyahu in Israel’s upcoming election on October 27, responded to Gil’s interview on social media. “Netanyahu misled, deceived and betrayed the trust of an entire nation, while endangering the security of its citizens,” he wrote.