Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was directly warned by the President of the United Arab Emirates that Hamas was planning a major offensive just days before the militant group attacked on October 7, 2023, according to an Israeli newspaper report.
Bin Zayed said it would lead to bloodshed and could destabilize the region and undermine the Abraham Accords, the normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority nations, the newspaper reported. UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed spoke with Mr. Mr. But Mr.
Netanyahu 10 days before the attack and said Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza at the time, was planning an operation, the Haaretz daily said.
Netanyahu “reacted with relative calm,” according to Haaretz , which said he assured Mr. bin Zayed that Israel was prepared for any scenario and a possible attack was more likely to come from the occupied West Bank. Haaretz reported Netanyahu’s office called the report an “absolute lie” and said Mr. Netanyahu did not speak with the UAE President “during the period in question and received no warning from him.”
Mr. His office did not respond to a request for comment. The UAE’s Foreign Ministry also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Netanyahu has rejected calls for an official government inquiry into the events surrounding the October 7 attack. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,650 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Earlier reporting noted: Days before the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, assault on Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Mohammed bin Zayed directly warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza was planning something major — a ‘Zilzal’, or an earthquake– against the Jewish state, according to an investigation by Israeli publication Haaretz. During a 45-minute call, the Emirati ruler reportedly asked Netanyahu to take the threat seriously, expressing concern that any such attack could not only lead to bloodshed but also destabilise the entire region and undermine the Abraham Accords.
Earlier reporting noted: According to the Haaretz report, bin Zayed’s warning to Netanyahu came about a week and a half before the massacre, in which he conveyed that “something there is about to explode”. “The emir hoped that despite his reserved response, Netanyahu would take the message seriously and take action,” the adviser said.
Earlier reporting noted: The Emirati ruler reportedly later recounted his conversation with Netanyahu to CIA Director William J Burns.
