Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cemented his image as a hawk on security issues, backed by his service in an elite special forces unit that executed some of Israel's boldest operations for hostage rescue. However, the legacy of Israel's longest-serving prime minister will now be reshaped following one of the worst security failures in the country’s history, tied to the fate of over 200 hostages held by armed militants from the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) during an attack that Israel says resulted in the deaths of 1,400 people, making it the deadliest day in the nation's 75-year history. The death toll, coupled with accounts of chaos and images of violence emerging from Israeli towns in the south, has plunged the country into shock.
In his sixth term as prime minister, the 74-year-old Netanyahu leads a right-wing coalition that is among the most hardline governments in Israel's history and is facing increasing pressure as initial shock has turned into a public outcry over the failures that allowed the attack to happen. Netanyahu refuses to take responsibility, stating that everyone will need to answer tough questions once the war with Hamas concludes. In one of his rare press conferences, he ignored a question about whether he would resign.
However, the general mood has shifted, with polls indicating a large majority blaming him for the attack, a sentiment reflected in images of government ministers being harassed in public as they exit their official vehicles. A poll conducted by Maariv on October 18-19 showed that former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, a leader of a centrist opposition party that recently joined a unity government, enjoys support from 48 percent of participants as a preferred candidate for prime minister, compared to just 28 percent for Netanyahu.
Israel Hayom reported this week that "Netanyahu will be ousted. Just like senior military and intelligence officials and the heads of the internal security service. Because they failed." Netanyahu’s popularity, already undermined by his corruption trial, has also suffered from a fierce battle over plans to curtail the powers of the Supreme Court, which prompted hundreds of thousands of Israelis to protest in the streets for months.
Political ramifications will be temporarily postponed as Israeli airstrikes continue, which Gaza’s health ministry says have killed more than 8,000 Palestinians, and as Israeli tanks penetrate deeper into the besieged enclave. Much will depend on the outcome of the operation aimed at destroying Hamas forever and on whether his party will continue to support him amid growing calls for change.
Netanyahu’s ally, former Israeli ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, stated, "I am not worried about polls, but what concerns me is delivering results, and I think Prime Minister Netanyahu and the government need to achieve the expected outcomes." Danon is a member of the Knesset from Netanyahu’s Likud party. He added, "We have seen far too many rounds in the past when pressure forced the government not to complete the mission and to leave Hamas in power. If the government does not fulfill its promise to eliminate Hamas, I am confident that it will not be accepted by the public or the political system."
However, the military test is not the only challenge. Netanyahu, who has exhausted all goodwill even from allies like the United States during his battle over judicial amendments, faces deep skepticism from much of the international community due to his alliance with extremist religious and nationalist parties. In addition to pressures over issues such as the relentless expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, international alarms are being raised over the casualty numbers during the bombardment of Gaza.
The economy, already affected by the uncertainty caused by the judicial reforms strongly opposed by a majority of the business community, is taking another hit, as companies in various sectors like construction and food services report a sharp decline in revenues. Netanyahu, who typically appears confident and reassuring, has shown increasing signs of unease, particularly after he sent a tweet late one night this week blaming intelligence leaders for failing to warn him about the October 7 attack. The tweet was deleted the following morning, and Netanyahu issued an apology, but the damage had already been done, igniting criticism from the press and across the political spectrum. A columnist from Yedioth Ahronoth remarked, "He is unfit for the position of prime minister," adding that Netanyahu should have resigned or been removed immediately after the October 7 attack.
