Netanyahu Asked UAE President to Deny Pre-Oct. 7 Hamas Attack Warning

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly visited Abu Dhabi on Sunday evening to ask UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed to publicly deny warning him about a potential Hamas attack before October 7, according to Associated Press (AP) sources familiar with the visit. Netanyahu's office had previously announced he met with bin Zayed, but the purpose of the unannounced trip was revealed by the sources.

Netanyahu departed Ben Gurion Airport shortly after noon on a private jet, landing in Abu Dhabi at 3:10 PM and departing at 7:10 PM, arriving back in Israel shortly after 10:00 PM. The visit comes amid controversy over reports that Netanyahu received various warnings about an impending attack prior to October 7.

One such report, from the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, stated that bin Zayed had personally called Netanyahu to warn him. The New York Times also reported that bin Zayed had warned Netanyahu days before the attack that Hamas was preparing for it. According to the Times report, Netanyahu did not mention this specific warning during a meeting with security chiefs on October 1.