Yair Netanyahu, the son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, expressed his admiration for a social media post accusing Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi of executing a military coup on October 7. The post stated: "On October 7, we were in the midst of a military coup led by Herzi Halevi, who did not inform the Prime Minister about the attack that was about to occur on the morning of Simchat Torah. The coup has not ended and has not been completed. The army commander and the Minister of Defense are preventing the Minister of Internal Security from entering a military base. It is truly a coup."
The post, written by an unknown social media user, referred to claims by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir that Halevi and Defense Minister Yoav Galant canceled his visit to a military base. The Israeli army and the Minister of Defense's office stated that "the visit was postponed due to time constraints, and Ben Gvir was asked to arrange it for another time," according to the Walla news site.
On October 7, the commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, Muhammad Deif, announced the launch of Operation "Al-Aqsa Flood," following the firing of hundreds of rockets from Gaza towards Palestinian territories and the infiltration of military sites and settlements adjacent to the Strip, resulting in the death and injury of thousands of soldiers and settlers and the capture of dozens.