Netanyahu warned by UAE president before Oct. 7 events, failed to brief security chiefs: Haaretz

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received an “explicit warning” from the United Arab Emirates about Hamas plans to carry out a major attack before the Oct. 7, 2023 events, but he failed to brief Israel’s security chiefs, Haaretz reported on Tuesday.

The Israeli daily said UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed held a 45-minute phone conversation with Netanyahu about a week and a half before Oct. 7, warning him that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major operation against Israel.

Haaretz, which based its report on dozens of Israeli and foreign sources as well as recordings, internal documents and correspondence, said the UAE president urged Netanyahu to take the threat seriously.

The Israeli premier reportedly responded that he believed Hamas intended to carry out an operation in the occupied West Bank and assured bin Zayed that Israel was prepared for any scenario.

Despite the warning, Netanyahu did not brief the heads of the Shin Bet domestic security agency, Mossad intelligence agency or the Israeli army chief of staff about his conversation with the UAE president, according to the report.

A senior Shin Bet official cited by Haaretz said that knowing about the warnings “could have changed our entire assessment picture.”

Haaretz claimed that bin Zayed later told then-CIA Director William Burns about his concerns and the message he had conveyed to Netanyahu that “something there is about to explode.”

According to the newspaper, the warning from the UAE president was not the first indication Israeli authorities had received about Hamas plans.

The report said a Palestinian intermediary had conveyed a message from Sinwar in September 2023 that he was preparing a “huge surprise” and an “earthquake.”

The warning was passed to the Shin Bet on Sept. 15, prompting then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to brief Netanyahu and leading to subsequent security discussions, according to the daily.

Haaretz also cited a similar warning reportedly delivered to Netanyahu’s office by then-Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel about “something unusual” being prepared by Hamas.

Netanyahu’s office strongly denied receiving any warning from the UAE leader.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu didn’t speak to the president of the UAE during the period in question and received no warning from him,” it said, calling the Haaretz report an “absolute lie.”

Former Shin Bet chief Bar and former Israeli army chief Herzl Halevi said they had not been informed of the warning allegedly delivered by bin Zayed, according to Haaretz.

There was no immediate comment from the UAE on the report.

For his part, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the Haaretz report about the warning was “true,” accusing Netanyahu of “criminal negligence” for failing to act on the warnings.

“Netanyahu bears personal and direct responsibility for the failure that led to the deaths of thousands of Israelis on his watch,” Bennett said on US social media company X.

Opposition politician and former Israeli army chief Gadi Eisenkot similarly accused Netanyahu of ignoring repeated warnings.

“Netanyahu received dozens of warnings ahead of Oct. 7 and ignored them all. He is unfit,” Eisenkot said.

On Oct. 8, 2023, the Israeli army launched a brutal offensive on Gaza that has killed more than 73,000 people, injured over 174,000 and destroyed much of the territory’s civilian infrastructure.