Israeli report: UAE warned Netanyahu before October 7

An investigation by Israeli newspaper Haaretz has claimed that United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about a planned major Hamas operation around 10 days before the October 7, 2023 attack.

According to the report, Bin Zayed spoke with Netanyahu in a 45-minute call in late September 2023. He allegedly told the Israeli prime minister that then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major operation against Israel.

The warning reportedly included concerns that the planned attack could result in significant bloodshed, destabilise the region and threaten the Abraham Accords between Israel and Arab states. The report said the information had reached Emirati authorities through a Palestinian intermediary before being passed to Israeli officials.

The report further claimed that Netanyahu responded calmly to the warning. He allegedly believed Hamas was preparing an operation in the West Bank rather than a large-scale attack from Gaza. According to the investigation, Netanyahu also assured the Emirati leader that Israel was prepared for different scenarios.

However, the report alleged that Netanyahu did not inform senior Israeli security officials about the warning. Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and former IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi reportedly told Haaretz that they were not aware of the alleged warning from the UAE president.

The report also raised questions about a separate warning from Egypt. According to the account, Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel had also warned Netanyahu around the same period about an unusual and potentially serious operation being prepared by Hamas. The report said Netanyahu similarly did not include the warning in subsequent security briefings.

The allegations have triggered renewed criticism of Netanyahu’s handling of intelligence warnings before the October 7 attack. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has said the report is credible and accused Netanyahu of bearing personal responsibility for the failures surrounding the attack. Other opposition figures have called for a formal investigation.

Netanyahu’s office has strongly denied the allegations. It described the report as an “absolute lie” and said the prime minister did not speak with the UAE president before October 7. The UAE has not publicly confirmed the reported conversation.