UAE warned Netanyahu of major Hamas operation days before October 7 attack, news report says

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was directly warned by the President of the United Arab Emirates that Hamas was planning a major offensive just days before the militant group attacked on October 7, 2023, according to an Israeli newspaper report.

Also read | ‘Lion King’ in the rubble 

UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed spoke with Mr. Netanyahu 10 days before the attack and said Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza at the time, was planning an operation, the Haaretz daily said.

Mr. Bin Zayed said it would lead to bloodshed and could destabilize the region and undermine the Abraham Accords, the normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority nations, the newspaper reported.

But Mr. Netanyahu “reacted with relative calm,” according to Haaretz, which said he assured Mr. bin Zayed that Israel was prepared for any scenario and a possible attack was more likely to come from the occupied West Bank.

Hamas militants killed some 1,200 people and took another 251 hostage in the October 7 attack. Hundreds of Israelis, mostly soldiers, have been killed in continued fighting from wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Haaretz reported Netanyahu’s office called the report an “absolute lie” and said Mr. Netanyahu did not speak with the UAE President “during the period in question and received no warning from him.”

Mr. Netanyahu has rejected calls for an official government inquiry into the events surrounding the October 7 attack. His office did not respond to a request for comment.

The UAE’s Foreign Ministry also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Israel is holding national elections next month, and Mr. Netanyahu’s actions around the time of the October 7 attack are a key issue in the campaign.

Gadi Eisenkot, a former top general who is seen as Mr. Netanyahu’s main opponent in election, accused the Prime Minister of ignoring dozens of warnings ahead of the attack.

“He is unfit,” Mr. Eisenkot wrote on social media.

Another Mr. Netanyahu rival, Naftali Bennett, said, “Netanyahu bears personal and direct responsibility for the failure that led to the deaths of thousands of Israelis on his watch.”

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,650 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.