Mystery Visitor: Who Met Egypt's Spy Chief Before Oct. 7?

The identities of Israeli officials who met with Egypt's intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel, shortly before the October 7th Hamas attack remain unclear, despite Kamel's visit to Israel being confirmed by Prime Minister Netanyahu. Investigations by Kan News indicate that neither the then-Head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, nor the then-Director of the Mossad, Dedi Barnea, nor the Head of Military Intelligence, Aharon Haliva, were the contacts. Even an official identified only as 'N.', who served as head of a relevant department at the National Security Council and later as deputy head of the Shin Bet, denied attending such a meeting.

Netanyahu stated he did not meet with Kamel because he was attending a memorial ceremony for IDF soldiers, adding that such meetings between heads of state and intelligence chiefs are uncommon. However, this contradicts past instances where Netanyahu met with foreign intelligence chiefs, including Kamel himself, with the Prime Minister's Office having publicly announced a meeting in May 2021.

A report by The Atlantic magazine suggested Kamel arrived in Israel 11 days before the attack, warning of a significant Hamas buildup and the dwindling time to prevent escalation. The Atlantic report did not confirm a meeting with Netanyahu, noting that it was impossible to verify who Kamel met with, and that Netanyahu was indeed at a ceremony marking 50 years since the Yom Kippur War on that day.

Separately, former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar has filed a defamation lawsuit against Prime Minister Netanyahu.