Netanyahu Claims Egyptian Spy Chief Visited Israel Before Oct. 7, Generals Dispute

Israeli security officials who held senior positions before the October 7 Hamas attack stated they have no knowledge of Egyptian Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel visiting Israel 11 days prior to the assault. One source told Ynet on Wednesday, October 14, that such a visit would have been known in real-time. "We conducted a post-mortem check and found no such event," the source said, expressing serious doubt about Kamel's alleged visit and challenging Netanyahu to reveal who Kamel met with if he indeed came. Foreign media reports had suggested Kamel, a close associate of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, traveled to Israel to warn of a large-scale attack. The Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem had consistently denied these reports.

However, on the evening of October 13, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated for the first time that Kamel had visited Israel about a week and a half before the October 7 "massacre." In an interview with Channel 14, Netanyahu said Kamel "flew in" but that he himself did not meet with him, as he was attending a memorial ceremony for fallen IDF soldiers. Netanyahu also claimed ignorance about who Kamel met with during the visit, stating, "The Egyptian intelligence minister was here. He spent 59 minutes on our territory. I am asking the intelligence and law enforcement agencies: who did he meet with?" He added that whoever met Kamel is now trying to blame him. Netanyahu clarified that Kamel did not speak with him, noting it's unusual for an intelligence chief to speak with a head of state. The article also notes that Netanyahu had publicly hosted Kamel at his residence two years prior, in 2021, with a video released by his office showing them shaking hands and conversing during Kamel's visit with a high-ranking delegation.

On the evening of October 14, Channel 11's news service reported that a private plane carrying two Egyptian businessmen, not Abbas Kamel, landed in Israel 11 days before the Hamas attack. The plane departed for Cairo after the passengers disembarked. According to informed sources cited by "11KАН," the aircraft belonged to the Egyptian charter company Start Aviation and landed at Ben Gurion Airport around 10:00 AM, spending just over an hour before departing at approximately 11:00 AM. The flight was not registered as official or security-related. "11KАН" journalists claim the identities of the two Egyptian passengers are known to Israeli officials, but passenger anonymity is standard for private flights. Earlier reports about an "Egyptian warning" emerged shortly after the war began, with AP reporting on October 9, 2023, that Kamel had delivered a warning of an "attack of unprecedented scale" to Netanyahu's office, citing a source in Egypt. The Atlantic magazine published a similar account in September 2026, suggesting Kamel visited Israel on a chartered light aircraft but couldn't confirm who he met. The Wall Street Journal reported that Kamel had called Netanyahu in early October 2023, expressing frustration over a lack of response to previous warnings. Following this, Netanyahu publicly criticized former Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, accusing him of knowing about the Hamas attack threat and withholding information.