Netanyahu's wife Sara implies political rival Yair Golan knew in advance of Oct. 7 Hamas attack

Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, implied in an interview on Monday that retired IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yair Golan knew in advance that Hamas was planning its Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

“When you are a military officer of such a high rank and claim that you fought on October 7, you were already there early in the morning, already dressed and prepared," Sara told the Israel's Channel 14. "At a very early hour, when others did not know, such as the prime minister,” she added, referring to her husband.

Golan, a fierce critic of the Netanyahu government, heads The Democrats, an opposition party established in 2024 through the merger of the left-wing Meretz party and the center-left Labor Party.

“In general, who is the prime minister who needs to know that a war is breaking out? Why inform him?” Netanyahu asked sarcastically.

While criticizing Golan, Sara stopped short of directly accusing the retired general of betrayal.

“I don’t want to talk. I don’t know. Let there be a real investigative committee,” she suggested.

Following the interview, Golan told Army Radio that he intends to file a defamation lawsuit against the prime minister's wife.

Golan's party wrote in a post on 𝕏: “The Democrats Party strongly condemns Sara Netanyahu’s slanderous and false remarks this evening on Channel 14. Spreading conspiracy theories against Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan and tarnishing his bravery on October 7 is crossing a red line bordering on madness. While Netanyahu rushed to put on makeup and look for excuses, Yair Golan charged forward and saved lives. The facts will not change, no matter how much the Netanyahu family and Channel 14 try to rewrite them.”

Gilad Kariv, a senior member of The Democrats, vowed that the party would eject “this corrupt and rotten couple” from the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem following the national election in October.

"It turns out that even Sara Netanyahu knows that Yair Golan went out to save people and rescue them from the inferno while her failed, spineless, and unfit husband stammers on the phone and then disappears for a few hours to put on makeup," Kariv argued.

Former IDF chief Benny Gantz, who leads the centrist Blue and White opposition party, also criticized Netanyahu’s allegations against Golan.

"Yair Golan is a brave warrior who fought and risked his life for the State of Israel over many decades, including on October 7," Gantz wrote. "Any attempt to pin a connection to treason on him - not only is it false; it harms the fighting spirit of our people," he warned.

Looking ahead, Gantz said an official state commission of inquiry into the Oct. 7 terror attack was essential to "put an end to the conspiracy theories, and allow lessons to be learned."

In an interview with Israel's N12 News, Golan recalled how he joined the fighting against the invading Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 and assisted in the evacuation of Israeli civilians from communities that were assaulted by Hamas terrorists.

Yet, Yair Golan is not without controversy. In May 2025, the retired general said that Israel is “killing babies as a hobby” and later clarified that he was referring "solely to the most failed government in Israel’s history" and not to the Israeli military establishment.