Ronen Bar, the former director of Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security agency, filed a defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday. Bar contends that Netanyahu made false accusations of criminal negligence regarding the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack. The lawsuit arrives days before a competitive October 27 election in which Netanyahu is fighting to retain his political position.
In his legal filing, Bar disputes Netanyahu’s claim that he failed to alert the prime minister to the impending assault. Bar stated he contacted Netanyahu’s military secretary when warning signs emerged but lacked the prime minister’s direct phone number. According to Bar’s lawsuit, Netanyahu made accusations “that he knew to be false, with the aim of diverting the debate from his own responsibility.” Bar is seeking three million shekels, approximately $968,500, in damages. He argues that Netanyahu’s policies over multiple years had heightened dangers posed by militant organizations in Gaza.
Netanyahu responded through a statement from his Likud party, questioning Bar’s account and asserting that the security chief had his direct contact information and could have called immediately. Netanyahu stated that lives could have been saved if Bar had contacted him in time on the morning of the attack.
Bar resigned from his position as Shin Bet director in June 2025 amid scrutiny over the October 7 assault, which killed at least 1,221 Israelis. The lawsuit emerges after Netanyahu’s former military secretary, Avi Gil, disclosed to Israeli media that the prime minister’s office had allegedly altered records concerning the attack, including changing the recorded time of a key phone call. Additionally, recent reporting indicated that Netanyahu had been warned of the planned assault by Egypt’s intelligence chief in the days preceding the attack.
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