Netanyahu Denies Receiving UAE Warning on Hamas Attack, NYT Reports

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not mention a warning call from UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed during a security discussion on October 1, days before the Hamas attack, and refrained from a preemptive strike in Gaza to maintain calm, according to a Friday report in The New York Times. This report corroborates an earlier publication in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which claimed Netanyahu received an explicit warning from the UAE president about a "major move" planned by Hamas leader Sinwar against Israel shortly before the October 7 massacre, but did not update security officials. The Times further alleges that bin Zayed later mentioned his call with Netanyahu to then-CIA Director William Burns, stating he had discussed the impending danger of violence in the West Bank or Gaza with Netanyahu. Netanyahu's office has denied these reports. Topaz Lok, an advisor to the Prime Minister, told Kan News that "there was no conversation of this type, no warning of this type was received." Lok asserted that such a call would not have occurred in a vacuum, as a representative from the National Security Council, military secretary, or political advisor would always be present, and the conversation's summary would be automatically forwarded to security agencies. He added that Netanyahu would not conceal such information and would have alerted everyone.