World
Report: UAE Leader Alerted Netanyahu of Hamas Attack Plan Days Before October 7
An Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, has reported that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed alerted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about a major planned Hamas operation approximately 10 days before the October 7, 2023 attack. Netanyahu's office has rejected the report, describing it as an "absolute lie."
According to Haaretz, bin Zayed cautioned that the anticipated attack could result in significant bloodshed, destabilize the region, and threaten the Abraham Accords, the normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority nations.
The report states that Netanyahu responded calmly, assuring bin Zayed that Israel was ready for any scenario, and suggested that any attack was more likely to come from the West Bank rather than Gaza.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas fighters killed more than 1,200 people in Israel and took 251 hostages. The assault triggered ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, during which hundreds of Israelis, primarily military personnel, have died.
Haaretz further reported that Netanyahu did not pass on the alleged warning to Israel's top security officials, including then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and then-IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, who were reportedly left uninformed.
Netanyahu's office has firmly denied the claims. It stated that the prime minister had no conversation with bin Zayed during the relevant period and received no such warning, according to the Associated Press. The UAE Foreign Ministry has not issued any comment on the matter.
The allegations stem from a forthcoming book titled "Kidnapped: 843 Days of Abandonment," authored by journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval. The book's findings are reportedly based on interviews with diplomatic sources, including an adviser to bin Zayed said to have direct knowledge of the conversation, as well as officials, recordings, internal documents, and correspondence.
The report has emerged as Israel prepares for a general election next month, intensifying scrutiny of Netanyahu's handling of the October 7 attack. Opposition figures have seized on the report to raise fresh questions about what the prime minister knew beforehand and whether adequate action was taken in response to any warnings received.