Benjamin Netanyahu has filed lawsuits against multiple journalistic organizations to contest claims that he suppressed critical alerts about a pending Hamas assault. The Israeli prime minister filed a NIS 2.6 million defamation suit against Haaretz, Yedioth Ahronoth, Ynet, Channel 12, and several reporters, dismissing reports that he personally received and ignored advance warnings from the UAE and Egypt as fabricated lies. Donald Trump also defended Netanyahu in a TIME interview, stating he did not believe the prime minister knowingly ignored such intelligence and would have acted had he known.

Reports from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Haaretz indicate that UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel provided secret warnings in September 2023 and early October, respectively. Israeli opposition leaders have used these leaks to call Netanyahu unfit for office ahead of elections on Oct. 27, alleging he failed to brief security chiefs despite receiving the intel. Netanyahu's office denies these discussions occurred, and the prime minister has since visited the UAE in secret to seek denials of the claims.