UAE Denies Warning Netanyahu About Hamas Attack Before October 7

The United Arab Emirates has responded to reports claiming its president, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about an impending large-scale Hamas attack approximately 10 days before the October 7th assault. The reports, initially published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, suggested bin Zayed informed Netanyahu of Hamas's preparations, but that Netanyahu believed the focus would be on the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and that the intelligence was not shared with senior security officials. Abu Dhabi has stated it will not comment on media speculation or reports concerning conversations between leaders. The UAE emphasized that its post-October 7 efforts are focused on de-escalation, regional stability, and curbing violence. They also noted that open communication channels have existed between the UAE and Israel since normalization five years ago, with intelligence shared as needed.

The Haaretz report also claimed a similar warning was received by Israel's General Security Service (Shin Bet) in mid-September. However, specialists reportedly believed this might have concerned the potential transfer of Israeli researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, kidnapped in Iraq, to Gaza. Previous reports also suggested Egyptian intelligence provided the Shin Bet with threat information that was allegedly not given sufficient attention.

Netanyahu's office has vehemently denied these claims, calling the information "absolute lies" and stating that the prime minister did not speak with the UAE president during the specified period nor receive any warnings about the Hamas attack.