UAE Official Denies Warning Netanyahu on Hamas Attack Before October 7

An official source in the United Arab Emirates has officially denied claims that the UAE warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about an impending Hamas attack prior to the October 7, 2023 massacre. The denial came in response to reports, notably from the Emirati newspaper 'The National,' which is considered close to the government. The UAE official stated that while security matters are discussed with other nations through relevant channels, such specific details are not addressed at the level of heads of state.

This clarification from Abu Dhabi appears to be an effort to distance itself from the political turmoil in Israel, emphasizing that any sensitive security discussions would have occurred through regular intelligence and security channels, not direct communication between leaders. The UAE's statement aims to convey that if any security talks took place, they were handled through established intelligence pipelines.

The controversy stems from reports published in the Israeli newspaper 'Haaretz,' which alleged that UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed had called Netanyahu ten days before the October 7 attack to warn him of a large-scale plot. Prime Minister Netanyahu had vehemently denied this report. The Likud party issued a strong response, accusing Palestinian official Mohammed Dahlan, who resides in the UAE, of being behind the 'false' report and calling it blatant foreign interference in Israeli elections.

In the wake of the controversy, Israeli intelligence officials provided context regarding information shared in September 2023. A senior Israeli intelligence source clarified that the information conveyed was not an operational alert. According to reports from i24news, the true purpose was to create a smokescreen, with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar allegedly sending messages of de-escalation while his deputy finalized the timing of the attack with Iran. Information was reportedly passed from Sinwar to Fatah official Soufian Abu Zaida, a confidant of Dahlan, and subsequently to Dahlan himself and Israel's Shin Bet security agency. Abu Zaida has maintained contact with Hamas official Ghazi Hamad, a channel reportedly established by Prime Minister Netanyahu after the 2014 Gaza war.