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

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly met with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed on Sunday and asked him to deny a report that he had been warned of an impending Hamas attack before October 7, 2023. The Associated Press reported this development on Monday, citing two sources familiar with the meeting.

The meeting, which lasted about an hour, was first reported by Israel's Channel 12. According to one source, the discussion focused on a Haaretz newspaper report from earlier this month, which claimed the UAE president had warned Netanyahu about an imminent Hamas assault shortly before the October 7 attacks.

Netanyahu reportedly requested that bin Zayed publicly deny the Haaretz report. The Prime Minister's office had previously denied the Haaretz story. The sources, one of whom is a senior regional official, spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the clandestine nature of the visit.

The UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the meeting but affirmed that the country maintains "open and direct communication channels" with Israel and shares "all relevant intelligence information."