Netanyahu Was Warned of Hamas Attack Plans, Sources Claim

Sources involved in critical security discussions in 2023 claim that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a direct warning from UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed about an impending "major event" planned by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. This crucial intelligence, however, was allegedly kept from other attendees of the high-level meetings, including senior security officials.

According to interviews with three Israeli sources who participated in these discussions, the information conveyed to Netanyahu was not shared with anyone else present. This lack of transparency, they argue, led to a "lenient interpretation" of intelligence assessments because a key piece of information was missing. Had they known about the UAE's warning, the sources believe, they might have reached different conclusions regarding the threat posed by Sinwar.

One senior security official told N12 that the "secrecy and suspicion" characteristic of Netanyahu's approach had a high cost. "If we had known about Netanyahu's conversations with the Emiratis and likely also with the Egyptians, we would have, with considerable probability, reached different conclusions," the official stated, attributing the intelligence gap to the prime minister's distrust of security agencies amid internal rifts.

Another senior security official confirmed that the information was withheld from system leaders. Without the full context, professionals interpreted Sinwar's actions differently, believing he was seeking a prisoner exchange related to the hostage Elzabeth Tsurkov, rather than planning a large-scale attack. "We said and warned: Sinwar is getting out of control. If we had known, at the very least, we would have thought about it again," the official added.

A military intelligence source suggested that if this information was indeed withheld, it could provide an additional explanation for Netanyahu's reluctance to establish a state commission of inquiry into the failures leading up to the October 7th attack. The Prime Minister's Office has denied the report, stating, "The media reports are false. No warning from the UAE was conveyed to the Prime Minister before October 7th. Any relevant information was transferred through the accepted intelligence channels between the two countries."