UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan reportedly warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about a planned Hamas operation in Gaza days before the October 7, 2023 attack, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
The report said bin Zayed spoke to Netanyahu 10 days before the attack and warned that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major operation that could cause heavy bloodshed, destabilise the region and put the Abraham Accords at risk.
Netanyahu Reportedly Reacted Calmly
According to Haaretz, Netanyahu “reacted with relative calm” to the warning. He reportedly told the UAE president that Israel was prepared for different scenarios but suggested that a possible attack was more likely to originate from the occupied West Bank.
Hamas fighters killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages during the October 7 attack, according to Israeli figures. The attack triggered Israel’s continuing military offensive in Gaza and a wider regional conflict.
Netanyahu Denies the Report
Netanyahu’s office has strongly denied the Haaretz report, calling it an “absolute lie”.
His office said Netanyahu did not speak with the UAE president “during the period in question” and did not receive any warning from him about a planned Hamas attack.
The UAE Foreign Ministry had not immediately responded to requests for comment, according to the report.
Netanyahu has also rejected calls for an official government inquiry into the events and intelligence failures surrounding the October 7 attack.
Political Rivals Target Netanyahu
The report comes ahead of Israel’s national elections, with Netanyahu’s handling of warnings before October 7 expected to remain a major political issue.
Gadi Eisenkot, a former senior Israeli general and one of Netanyahu’s main political opponents, accused the prime minister of ignoring repeated warnings before the attack.
“He is unfit,” Eisenkot wrote on social media.
Another political rival, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, said Netanyahu “bears personal and direct responsibility for the failure that led to the deaths of thousands of Israelis on his watch”.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 73,650 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
