Sinwar's Messenger Contradicts Report, Says Message Wasn't War Warning

Soufian Abu Zaida, a former Fatah official identified in a Haaretz investigation as "Coal Eyes," has stated that he did not interpret a message he received from Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar before the October 7th attack as a warning of war. Abu Zaida clarified in an interview with Channel 12 that he believed Sinwar's words might have related to the West Bank, not an imminent large-scale attack originating from Gaza.

This account directly contradicts a report by Shlomi Eldar for Haaretz, which attributed a different interpretation to Abu Zaida. Abu Zaida asserted that not only did he not perceive the message as a war threat, but neither did the individuals to whom he relayed the information in the United Arab Emirates, including Mohammed Dahlan and Mohammed bin Zayed.

Abu Zaida further explained that if he had perceived any threat, he would have assumed it pertained to a cell in the West Bank, rather than an event unfolding from the Gaza Strip. He also noted that a specific detail mentioned by Sinwar, an ultimatum "until the end of September," was not included in Eldar's report.

Abu Zaida had previously presented himself as the source who conveyed Sinwar's message to UAE officials. He now emphasizes that at the time, the message was not understood as a prelude to war, and certainly not as a warning of an attack on the scale of October 7th.