Netanyahu Denies UAE President Warned Him Before Oct. 7 Attack

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly asked UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed to deny claims that he had been warned by the Emirati leader about a planned attack before October 7. The report, citing a source with firsthand knowledge of the meeting, comes from the Associated Press. Netanyahu has consistently denied receiving any prior warnings.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the meeting to AP, but notably did not issue a denial, unlike in a previous instance. The ministry stated it maintains open communication with Israel and shares relevant intelligence. The official UAE news agency did not mention Netanyahu's visit, which is believed to have lasted six hours. Netanyahu's office did not respond to the AP report, though it had previously stated the visit concerned Iran.

This denial comes amid renewed scrutiny of alleged warnings received by Netanyahu prior to the Hamas attack. A report by Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval suggested bin Zayed had explicitly warned Netanyahu about a planned Hamas operation, described as an "earthquake," about a week and a half before October 7. This followed earlier reports, including one by Smadar Peri, that Egypt had also warned Netanyahu of an impending major attack from Gaza.

The Wall Street Journal, citing Arab government officials, reported that Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel contacted Netanyahu in early October 2023 to warn him of an imminent attack from Gaza, after two previous Egyptian warnings were reportedly ignored. The New York Times also reported on bin Zayed's alleged conversation with Netanyahu, noting that bin Zayed mentioned Hamas's plans for a large-scale attack to the CIA chief, while Netanyahu reportedly did not address the issue in a security meeting on October 1, where he opposed a proposal to target Hamas leaders.

Further details emerged from an Atlantic Council investigation, suggesting Kamel made a secret visit to Israel 11 days before the attack, warning of a major Hamas offensive and urging economic concessions to prevent escalation. Palestinian politician Soufian Abu Zeida also revealed a note, allegedly written by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar 22 days before the attack, which spoke of an "earthquake" in negotiations and the release of prisoners, a sentiment echoed in other intelligence reports from mid-September 2023.