Netanyahu denies book report claiming UAE warned him of Hamas attack ten days before October 7

Report details late September warning

Excerpts published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz from a forthcoming book by journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval state that United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of an impending Hamas attack roughly ten days before 7 October 2023. According to the investigation, which cites Israeli and foreign officials, documents, and recordings, the UAE leader held a 45-minute telephone call with Netanyahu in late September 2023. The alert stemmed from conversations between Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar and a Palestinian intermediary known as Black Eyes, a Hebrew-speaking Fatah official with contacts in both Hamas and the Israeli security agency Shin Bet. Sinwar reportedly told the intermediary that his organisation was preparing an earthquake against Israel that would inflict high casualties and disrupt Middle Eastern diplomacy.

Secret truce talks and dismissed alerts

At the time of the warning, Netanyahu's coalition, which took office in late 2022, was conducting indirect negotiations through the intermediary to secure a long-term truce, or hudna, with Hamas. The proposed arrangement included expanding Palestinian work permits, delivering natural gas to Gaza, constructing an industrial zone in the northern Strip, and gradually lifting the blockade. During the late September telephone call, an Abu Dhabi-based Palestinian adviser to Bin Zayed also participated, urging Israel to take the threat seriously, ease economic pressure on Gaza, and reduce friction in the West Bank. The report states Netanyahu remained calm, telling the UAE president that Hamas was primarily interested in operating in the West Bank and asserting that Israel was prepared for any scenario. Former Shin Bet officials cited in the investigation stated the warning was not forwarded to military or security chiefs for operational action.

Government denial and Abraham Accords

The Prime Minister's Office rejected the investigation on Tuesday, denying that any conversation or warning took place between the two leaders before the cross-border attack that resulted in 251 hostages taken into Gaza. Relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates had previously been normalised in 2020 through the United States-brokered Abraham Accords.

Prime Minister Netanyahu did not speak with the president of the United Arab Emirates in the period in question and received no warning from him.

Opposition fallout ahead of October election

The revelations prompted sharp criticism from Israeli opposition leaders ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for 27 October 2026. Opposition figures renewed demands for an independent state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding 7 October 2023, a measure Netanyahu has blocked. Former Chief of General Staff Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu's primary election challenger, said the premier led the country blindly to disaster and declared him unfit for office.

Netanyahu received dozens of warnings before October 7 and ignored them all.

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the Together party, stated that Netanyahu received warnings from both Mohammed bin Zayed and Egyptian intelligence leadership, arguing that the prime minister bears direct responsibility for the casualties and should leave office immediately. Democrats leader Yair Golan also stated on social platform X that Netanyahu's position is illegitimate.