Fatah Politician Reveals Hamas Warning of 'Exceptional Earthquake' Before Oct. 7

A prominent Fatah politician, Dr. Sufian Abu Zaida, a former minister for Palestinian prisoners' affairs, revealed in a Facebook video on Wednesday that he was the one who conveyed a warning from former Hamas commander Yahya Sinwar to Israel in September 2023 about an impending attack. Abu Zaida stated he would soon disclose more details about the message he received from Sinwar and his role in mediating between Israel and Hamas.

The revelation was detailed in a book by journalists Shlomi Eldar and Rot Yuval, who reported that Abu Zaida, though unnamed in the book, received a message during negotiations concerning the return of bodies of Israeli soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, and the captives Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu. According to the journalists, Sinwar told Abu Zaida in early September, as negotiations stalled, to inform the Israelis that he was planning a "major surprise" for them, using the term "earthquake" for the first time.

Abu Zaida initially hesitated to relay the message directly to Israel for fear of being accused of collaborating with Sinwar. Instead, he passed it to an advisor to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed. Subsequently, Abu Zaida was asked to speak with Sinwar again, who elaborated, "Tell them I am preparing a surprise from the land of surprises, something exceptional," reiterating the "earthquake" term. Abu Zaida contacted the UAE presidential advisor again, and on September 15, a warning was conveyed to the Shin Bet.

Following this, former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar discussed the matter with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leading to security consultations. The assessment at the time was that Sinwar intended to capture an Israeli woman soldier who had been abducted in Iraq, and the recommendation was to thwart the threat and bolster defenses in Gaza. The report, citing Eldar, indicated that the UAE President, seeing no Israeli response, contacted Netanyahu directly to confirm the message's delivery. During a 45-minute call, Netanyahu reportedly sought to reassure the UAE President, stating Israel was prepared in Gaza and any issues would arise in the West Bank. The report claims Netanyahu did not inform the IDF chief, Shin Bet head, or Mossad chief of this specific warning.

Separately, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced his intention to sue the newspaper Haaretz and journalist Shlomi Eldar for libel over a report claiming the UAE President had warned Netanyahu about Sinwar's attack plans. Netanyahu asserted on his X account that the report was false and that no such phone call occurred between him and the UAE President between September 1 and October 7, 2023, a claim corroborated by checks of his call logs by his office and the National Security Council.