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(https://rumcdn.geoedge.be/f7ae3efe-f9e8-44be-8cf9-3b564afd5f4b/grumi-ip.js)  (https://widgets.outbrain.com/outbrain.js)  (https://btloader.com/tag?o=5119785225420800&upapi=true)  (https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=GTM-T4BJGTM)   (../manifest.json)  (../../images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/Icons/PNG/jp-favicon-16.png)  (../../images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/Icons/PNG/jp-favicon-32.png)  (../../images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/Icons/PNG/jp-favicon-192.png)  (https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/Icons/PNG/jp-favicon-180.png)  (https://fonts.gstatic.com)  (https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js)  Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to IDF chief Halevi three hours after Oct. 7 attack began | The Jerusalem Post      (article-907411.html)                     (Jerusalem Post) (https://www.jpost.com/) (The Jerusalem Post - Israel News) (The Jerusalem Post - Israel News)    (CONFERENCES) (https://www.jpost.com/conferences) CONFERENCES  (ISRAEL NEWS) (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news) ISRAEL NEWS  (WORLD NEWS) (https://www.jpost.com/international) WORLD NEWS  (MIDDLE EAST) (https://www.jpost.com/middle-east) MIDDLE EAST  (BUSINESS & INNOVATION) (https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation) BUSINESS & INNOVATION  (DEFENSE & TECH) (https://defense-and-tech.jpost.com/) DEFENSE & TECH  (OPINION) (https://www.jpost.com/opinion) OPINION  (JP STORE) (https://store.jpost.com/) JP STORE   (https://www.jpost.com/PayWalllogin) Login    (Search) ()           (https://www.jpost.com/PayWalllogin) Login (https://payments.jpost.com/paywall/paywallpersonaldetails) Subscribe    (https://www.jpost.com/magazineprint/digitallibrary) JPOST DIGITAL LIBRARY  (https://www.jpost.com/) HOME PAGE  (https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report) THE JERUSALEM REPORT  (https://defense-and-tech.jpost.com/) DEFENSE & TECH  (https://www.jpost.com/tags/education) JPOST HIGHER EDUCATION  (https://www.jpost.com/opinion) OPINION  BUSINESS & INNOVATION      (https://realestate.jpost.com/) REAL ESTATE LISTINGS  (https://www.jpost.com/aliyah) ALIYAH  (https://www.jpost.com/conferences) JERUSALEM POST CONFERENCE  PREMIUM      (https://store.jpost.com/) JP STORE  Categories  ISRAEL NEWS      WORLD NEWS      MIDDLE EAST      (https://www.jpost.com/american-politics) US POLITICS  DIASPORA      (https://www.jpost.com/opinion) OPINION  PODCAST      JUDAISM      (https://www.jpost.com/kabbalah) KABBALAH  CHRISTIAN WORLD      HEALTH & WELLNESS      (https://www.jpost.com/science) SCIENCE  (https://www.jpost.com/law) LAW  ARCHAEOLOGY      (https://www.jpost.com/omg) OMG  (https://www.jpost.com/environment-and-climate-change) ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE  (https://www.jpost.com/food-recipes) FOOD & RECIPES  (https://www.jpost.com/history) HISTORY   (https://www.jpost.com/special-content) SPONSORED CONTENT  (https://www.jpost.com/advertise) ADVERTISE WITH US  (https://www.jpost.com/landedpages/termsofservice.aspx) TERMS OF USE  (https://www.jpost.com/landedpages/privacypolicy.aspx) PRIVACY POLICY  (https://www.jpost.com/contactus) CONTACT US  (https://www.jpost.com/customer-service/cancel-subscription) CANCEL SUBSCRIPTION  (https://www.jpost.com/customer-service) CUSTOMER SERVICE  (https://www.jpost.com/landedpages/aboutus.aspx) ABOUT US       (https://www.jpost.com/) Jerusalem Post /  (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news) Israel News   Netanyahu's Oct. 7 phone call to IDF chief took place three hours after attack began - report Earlier this week, Netanyahu claimed that IDF officers deliberately did not wake him for over an hour because they knew he would prevent the massacre.  (Share)         (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=https://www.jpost.com/)      Follow us on Google     (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a vote at the plenum hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on July 16, 2026.) (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a vote at the plenum hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on July 16, 2026.)   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a vote at the plenum hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on July 16, 2026. (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90 )    By (https://www.jpost.com/author/jerusalem-post-staff) JERUSALEM POST STAFF    SEPTEMBER 3, 2026 10:39  Updated:  SEPTEMBER 3, 2026 11:29   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not speak to then-IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi on October 7 until three hours after the (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-900946) Hamas attacks began , KAN News reported on Thursday.  According to the report, Netanyahu only spoke to Halevi at 9:45 a.m. that day during the situational assessment, despite receiving two separate phone calls about the ongoing terrorist attack at 6:29 a.m. and 6:40 a.m., and the prime minister did not ask to speak with Halevi during or immediately after either call.   The report follows (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-907292) comments by Sara Netanyahu that the Democratic Party chief, Yair Golan, had prior knowledge of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack in which over 1,200 Israelis were slaughtered and that launched the war that continues to this day.  "You claim to have been a fighter on October 7," said Sara Netanyahu. "You were there early in the morning, dressed and ready. At a very early hour, when others did not know, such as the prime minister."  Later, in an Instagram post, the (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-901023) prime minister claimed that IDF officers deliberately did not wake him for over an hour because they knew he would prevent the massacre.   (IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi seen during an exercise in northern Israel, July 31, 2024)  IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi seen during an exercise in northern Israel, July 31, 2024 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)    Netanyahu: Everything would have been different 'if they had woken me'  "They were afraid that if they woke the prime minister, I would activate the air force, and I would wake the entire IDF, and I would not let anyone get close to the fences - because we would kill them immediately," he claimed.  "If they had woken me,(https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-906432) everything would have looked different ," he added.     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