NYT: Netanyahu Was Warned of Hamas Attack Days Before October 7

The President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in late September 2023 that Hamas might be preparing a major attack, according to two sources cited by The New York Times. One source claims to have spoken directly with the UAE president, while the other received information from someone present during the leaders' conversation. The sources indicated that bin Zayed informed Netanyahu that intelligence pointed to an impending attack, though it was unclear if it would involve rocket fire or a ground invasion.

On October 1, just six days before the October 7 attacks, Netanyahu convened a meeting with heads of Israeli security agencies to discuss the Gaza situation. According to meeting minutes obtained by The New York Times, Netanyahu did not mention the UAE president's warning. Five former senior Israeli officials told the newspaper that information from bin Zayed likely never reached security leaders. They also stated they had not encountered any mention of this conversation in internal IDF and intelligence investigations they participated in.

During the October 1 meeting, Netanyahu advocated for maintaining calm in Gaza and opposed proposals to strike Hamas leaders responsible for attacks in Judea and Samaria. He also expressed concern that an Israeli operation in Gaza could jeopardize normalization talks with Saudi Arabia, which he believed were close to completion.

Further complicating the narrative, a Haaretz investigation published two and a half weeks prior suggested that bin Zayed received a warning from Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar via an intermediary known as "Coal Eyes." Former Palestinian Authority official Sufian Abu Zeida later identified himself as this intermediary, stating that on September 14, Sinwar asked him to convey a message to the Israelis: "By the end of September, we will lay our cards on the table, and it will cause an earthquake in the negotiations. They should prepare to empty the prisons." This message was reportedly received by the General Security Service (Shin Bet) on September 15, and then-Shin Bet head Ronen Bar informed Netanyahu. At the meeting, Shin Bet representatives speculated that Sinwar might be trying to leverage the situation for the release of Israeli researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, held by militants in Iraq at the time. No decisions were made at that meeting.

Months later, bin Zayed reportedly discussed the warning with CIA Director William Burns, telling him he had alerted Netanyahu to an escalating threat from Hamas in Judea and Samaria or Gaza, according to a NYT source. However, Netanyahu denies receiving any warning from bin Zayed. His office called the reports "complete lies," stating the prime minister had not spoken with the UAE president during that period and that such information would have been shared through official intelligence channels. Netanyahu's office and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to The New York Times' request for comment. An official UAE source previously told The National newspaper that security matters are discussed through relevant departments, not at the head of state level.