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Israel’s Netanyahu Says Wasn’t Warned of Planned Hamas Attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv on October 28, 2023 amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv on October 28, 2023 amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
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Israel’s Netanyahu Says Wasn’t Warned of Planned Hamas Attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv on October 28, 2023 amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv on October 28, 2023 amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday took a jab at his intelligence chiefs on the X platform, saying they never warned him Hamas was planning its wide-scale attack on Oct. 7, but later retracted his comments and issued an apology.

The remarks, posted on X at 1 a.m. on Sunday (around 2300 GMT on Saturday), caused a political uproar and a rift within the war cabinet of Netanyahu, who has drawn public ire for not taking responsibility over intelligence and operational failures relating to Hamas' rampage through southern Israel.

While top officials - from the heads of the military and the Shin Bet domestic spy service to his finance minister - have all acknowledged their failures, Netanyahu has not.

He has only said that there would be time to ask tough questions, including of himself, after the war.

Israel's military spokesperson, asked about Netanyahu's comments during a daily briefing with reporters, declined to respond, saying: "We are now at war, focused on the war."

Israeli officials have said events leading up to and including the handling of the Hamas attack itself would be investigated, but that the current focus was on the conflict.

Netanyahu's now-deleted post had said: "At no time and no stage was a warning given to Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding war intentions of Hamas. On the contrary, all security officials, including the head of army intelligence and the head of the Shin Bet, estimated that Hamas was deterred and interested in an arrangement."

In a second post on X about 10 hours later, Netanyahu wrote: "I was wrong," adding that his remarks "should not have been made and I apologize for that."

"I give full backing to all the heads of the security branches," he said.

Netanyahu's initial comments were quickly rebuked by current and past allies, including Benny Gantz, a former defense minister who is now in Netanyahu's war cabinet.

Gantz said on X that Netanyahu should retract what he said and let the matter go.

"When we are at war, leadership must show responsibility, decide to do the right things and bolster the forces in a way that they can carry out what we demand of them," Gantz said.

The well-planned surprise Hamas attack was the deadliest for Israel in its 75-year history. Israel has since bombarded the Gaza Strip with devastating air strikes and begun ground operations with the aim of toppling the Iran-backed Islamist group and returning scores of captives abducted from Israel to Gaza.

The retracted post "points to just one thing: he (Netanyahu) is not interested in security, he is not interested in hostages, only politics," said opposition lawmaker Avigdor Lieberman, once Netanyahu's defense minister, in a radio interview.

Yossi Cohen, who headed the Mossad spy agency under previous Netanyahu governments, told Israel Radio: "You take responsibility from the beginning of your job, not from the middle."

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Arab World

UN: Sudan Drone Strikes Killed at Least 880 Civilians between January and April

Sudanese Army elements celebrate after seizing control of an area in northern Khartoum Bahri on January 25, 2025 (Reuters)
Sudanese Army elements celebrate after seizing control of an area in northern Khartoum Bahri on January 25, 2025 (Reuters)
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UN: Sudan Drone Strikes Killed at Least 880 Civilians between January and April

Sudanese Army elements celebrate after seizing control of an area in northern Khartoum Bahri on January 25, 2025 (Reuters)
Sudanese Army elements celebrate after seizing control of an area in northern Khartoum Bahri on January 25, 2025 (Reuters)

At least 880 civilians were killed in drone strikes in Sudan between January and April this year, the UN said Monday, warning such strikes were pushing the conflict towards a "new, even deadlier phase".

Drone attacks by both Sudan's army and paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been at war since April 2023, have intensified across the country in recent months, reported AFP.

The United Nations rights office said that its Sudan team had determined that "drone strikes accounted for at least 880 civilian deaths -- more than 80 percent of all conflict-related civilian deaths -- between January and April this year".

"Armed drones have now become by far and away the leading cause of civilian deaths," UN rights chief Volker Turk said in the statement.

A growing use of drones allows fighting to continue "unabated" in the rainy season, which in the past has seen a lull, he said.

"An intensification of hostilities in the coming weeks... risks hostilities expanding even further to central and eastern states, with lethal consequences for civilians across enormous areas," he said.

More than three years of civil war in Sudan have already killed tens of thousands, displaced over 11 million and thrust several areas into famine.

But now, Turk warned that "unless action is taken without delay, this conflict is on the cusp of entering yet another new, even deadlier phase".

Most of the civilian deaths attributed to drone strikes in the first three months of the year were recorded in the Kordofan region and Darfur.

Those strikes have continued, with most recently on May 8 drones striking Al Quoz in South Kordofan and near El-Obeid in North Kordofan, reportedly killing 26 civilians and injuring others, the rights office said.

It said belligerents had used drones to repeatedly strike civilian objects and infrastructure, "diminishing access to sufficient food, clean water and health care".

Markets have been repeatedly targeted, with at least 28 such attacks resulting in civilian casualties in the first four months of the year.

Health facilities have been hit at least 12 times, it added.

Now, the rights office said, drone strikes by the RSF and the Sudanese army were increasingly spreading beyond Kordofan and Darfur, to Blue Nile, White Nile and Khartoum.

Turk warned that heightened violence would disrupt provision of critical humanitarian assistance. 

"Much of the country, including Kordofan, is now facing an increased risk of famine and acute food insecurity," he said, adding that the situation was being exacerbated by fertilizer shortages linked to the Middle East war. 

Arab World

Israel Says Soldier Killed Near Border with Lebanon

This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of Israeli bombardment that targeted the village of Tair Harfa on May 11, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of Israeli bombardment that targeted the village of Tair Harfa on May 11, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Says Soldier Killed Near Border with Lebanon

This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of Israeli bombardment that targeted the village of Tair Harfa on May 11, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Tyre shows smoke rising from the site of Israeli bombardment that targeted the village of Tair Harfa on May 11, 2026. (AFP)

Israel's military said Monday that one of its soldiers had died in fighting near the border with Lebanon, bringing its losses to 18 personnel since the war with Hezbollah began in early March.

Sergeant Major Alexander Glovanyov, 47, "fell during combat near the Israel-Lebanon border", the military said.

He was killed on Sunday.

Since the war began, one Israeli civilian contractor has also been killed in addition to the 18 soldiers.

Israel and Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah have been trading fire in south Lebanon despite a ceasefire in place since April 17 between Israel and Lebanon that aimed to halt the fighting.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East conflict on March 2 when it launched rockets at Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes.

Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion. Its troops are operating behind an Israeli-declared "yellow line" that runs around 10 kilometers (six miles) north of Lebanon's border.

Arab World

Sudden ‘Veto’ from Iran Thwarts Govt Formation Efforts in Iraq

From right to left: Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi, Coordination Framework member Hadi al-Amiri, and caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. (Coordination Framework)
From right to left: Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi, Coordination Framework member Hadi al-Amiri, and caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. (Coordination Framework)
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Sudden ‘Veto’ from Iran Thwarts Govt Formation Efforts in Iraq

From right to left: Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi, Coordination Framework member Hadi al-Amiri, and caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. (Coordination Framework)
From right to left: Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi, Coordination Framework member Hadi al-Amiri, and caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. (Coordination Framework)

Two Iraqi officials revealed on Sunday that a sudden “veto” from Iran has thwarted efforts to form a new Iraqi government. Iran has expressed its objection to keeping pro-Tehran armed factions out of the new government.

Tehran has demanded that the ruling Shiite Coordination Framework refrain from voting in favor of a cabinet lineup that “harms the influence of its allies” in the Iraqi state, the officials told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Amid these developments, reports said that Esmail Qaani, commander of Iran’s Quds Force, the foreign arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), made a surprise visit to Baghdad as Prime Minister-designate Ali al-Zaidi had reportedly been making progress in the government formation process.

Significant throughout these developments is the United States’ pressure on al-Zaidi to keep the armed factions out of the new government, reflecting mounting tensions with Tehran that are playing out on a larger scale in the region over Hormuz and the war on Iran.

Sources said Qaani had arrived in Baghdad in recent hours with a message that “Tehran objects” to Iraq’s “complete subservience to Washington.”

An official compared to Asharq Al-Awsat the tensions in Iraq over the government to the tensions between Washington and Tehran over Hormuz.

‘Purely American government’

The two officials said Iran wants to prevent Iraq from forming a “purely American government,” amid US pressure on Baghdad to curb the activity of the pro-Iran armed factions.

Al-Zaidi was named PM-designate on April 27, receiving unprecedented American backing from President Donald Trump himself, who described his appointment as a victory for the Washington administration.

A PM-designate has no more than 30 days to present a cabinet lineup to parliament for a vote of confidence. Time is of the essence with several MPs travelling to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, meaning the necessary quorum for the parliament session to be held may not be met.

American officials are expected to arrive in Baghdad within days. Sources said Washington not only wants the armed factions out of the government, but it wants to ensure that they will not seek “alternate arrangements” that would get them in the cabinet. This prompted Iran to resort to its “veto” and throttle the government negotiations.

The disagreements over the government in Iraq largely reflect the negotiations between the US and Iran in the region that have been ongoing for weeks without reaching a final settlement.

One of the Iraqi officials quoted a prominent member of the Framework as describing as “unprecedented” the US involvement in the formation of the government. He warned that the differences could turn into an “open conflict” between Washington and Tehran, concerns that were heightened with Qaani’s arrival in Baghdad ahead of American officials who are expected there soon too.

Should Iran resort to informing the Framework MPs to refrain from voting for al-Zaidi's cabinet, Washington may in turn increase pressure on Baghdad, such as imposing sanctions and cutting off support, to get its way, a senior advisor in an influential Shiite party told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The ongoing dispute between Washington and Tehran may lead to al-Zaidi quitting as PM-designate, he warned.

The Iraqi officials, who are involved in the government formation efforts, revealed that al-Zaidi had received messages from several parties, including the US, over the need to from a cabinet that “does not have Iranian influence.”

Negotiators have said that Washington “is now interfering in the tiniest detail” in the formation process and it has “accurate information about how the factions operate to try to outmaneuver” American conditions.

The conditions are not only limited to the government, but also include restricting the factions’ economic and political connections with Tehran, especially issues related to water resources, oil, and independence of political decision-making, revealed political sources.

Al-Zaidi has tried to keep sovereign portfolios out of the hands of the armed factions and granting them “lesser” ministries. The move has angered Iran, which was hoping that it would retain influence over powerful ministries.

An informed source said noted the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq movement, which boasts 27 MPs in parliament and has been demanding that its political weight be reflected in cabinet. It has been demanding that it be granted the Oil Ministry, putting it at great odds with Washington.