Asked how he changed since October 7, Netanyahu jokes that he lost weight

Eisenkot: PM out of touch, unfit and unworthy of this nation

Quip sparks outcry from political rivals, but PM says Hamas invasion also led him to see need for buffer zones beyond Israel’s borders and importance of a broad mobilization of reservists

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and ToI Staff

Today, 4:09 am

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joked that what has changed about him since October 7 is that he has since “lost a little weight,” sparking outcry from political opponents and others for making light of Hamas’s 2023 invasion and massacre.

Asked during a Channel 14 interview if he was changed by the Hamas attack, Netanyahu first said that the invasion and massacre affected his approach to Israel’s security doctrine, citing the need for buffer zones inside enemy territory.

“Let’s just say that I learned lessons. I drew conclusions. And you have to move with reality,” he said.

“The most important thing, in my view, is first and foremost having buffer zones inside enemy territory — not inside our territory. I don’t want the communities of the north to be some kind of frontier region whose reality is different from that of the areas immediately south of them,” the premier said.

Netanyahu has insisted on maintaining wide buffer zones in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, but they have produced limited results in thwarting Iranian proxies in those areas, while straining US efforts to advance diplomatic resolutions to regional conflicts.

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The premier was pressed further by the pro-Netanyahu channel on how he personally has changed since the massacre, leading him to quip, “First of all, I lost a little weight.”

כולם השתנו אחרי ה-7 באוקטובר. כולם. חוץ ממנו. נתניהו אומר שהוא איבד קצת במשקל. ההלצה. הבוז.

במדינה חפצת חיים מפסידים על זה, רק על זה את הבחירות. גם ללא אחריות של שני עשורים למחדל. pic.twitter.com/9WHZnmDkbv

— נדב איל Nadav Eyal (@Nadav_Eyal) June 30, 2026

He then quickly pivoted to a review of wartime decisions he said he championed, including a broader reserve mobilization than initially planned, the campaign against Hamas, operations against Hezbollah, actions in Syria and strikes on Iran.

But Netanyahu’s political rivals quickly pounced on Netanyahu’s decision to seemingly make light of the October 7 attack in which some 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage.

“He is out of touch, unfit and unworthy of this nation,” tweeted Yashar party chair Gadi Eisenkot, who has become Netanyahu’s main rival in the upcoming election.

Eisenkot repeated his vow to establish a state commission of inquiry to investigate the October 7 massacre — which Netanyahu has been steadfastly opposed to.

Netanyahu’s remarks came amid ongoing public debate over accountability for the attack, which led several senior military and intelligence officials to publicly acknowledge failures and resign. Netanyahu has not explicitly accepted personal responsibility for the attack and has refused to establish a state commission of inquiry, instead calling for a politically controlled probe of the Hamas attack and aftermath.

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