UAE warned Netanyahu before Oct. 7, failed to brief security chiefs: Report

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received an explicit warning from the United Arab Emirates about impending Hamas attack plans roughly 10 days before the Oct. 7 events but failed to brief the country's security chiefs, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Tuesday. UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed held a 45-minute phone conversation with Netanyahu about a week and a half before the attack, warning him that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major operation against Israel, according to the report.

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 service or the Israeli army chief of staff about his conversation with the UAE president. A senior Shin Bet official cited by the newspaper said that knowing about the warnings "could have changed our entire assessment picture."

Pattern of warnings

The report noted 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." 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, as well as a September 2023 message from Sinwar conveyed by a Palestinian intermediary about a "huge surprise" and an "earthquake" that prompted then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to brief Netanyahu.

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."

Domestic criticism mounts

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. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said the report 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 X. Opposition politician and former Israeli army chief Gadi Eisenkot similarly accused Netanyahu of ignoring repeated warnings, stating: "Netanyahu received dozens of warnings ahead of Oct. 7 and ignored them all. He is unfit."