Haaretz Report Sparks Storm as Netanyahu Denies UAE Warning Before Oct. 7 Hamas Attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced a political storm after Haaretz reported that UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan warned him about Hamas’s plans before the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.

“No warning was given to the Prime Minister from the United Arab Emirates before October 7th.”

The Jerusalem Post

The Prime Minister’s Office denied the account, saying, "No warning was given to the Prime Minister from the United Arab Emirates before October 7," and added that any relevant information would have been passed through intelligence channels between the two countries.

Anadolu Ajansı

The UAE Foreign Ministry also said it would not comment on "speculation" about whether the two countries spoke, while maintaining that "all relevant intelligence has been and continues to be communicated" between the relevant entities.

Opposition leaders seized on the dispute, with Gadi Eisenkot writing, "Netanyahu received dozens of warnings for the seven of October e ignoró todas. No está capacitado," and Naftali Bennett saying Netanyahu has "una responsabilidad personal y directa" for the 1.221 muertos of that day.

As Israel’s election campaign intensified, four opposition leaders demanded a state commission of inquiry after Haaretz said Netanyahu received an explicit warning but did not pass it on to Israel’s defense establishment.

CNN reported that the four opposition party leaders—Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman and Yair Golan—issued a joint statement calling for "an immediate and thorough investigation" into Netanyahu’s "failures and malfunctioning."

AP News

In the same dispute, Naftali Bennett told CNN that the report is "true," writing on X that Netanyahu’s alleged disregard for the warnings amounts to "criminal negligence."

The UAE’s position remained limited to intelligence-sharing language, with its Foreign Ministry saying it "does not comment on media stories or speculation regarding conversations between government leaders" while stating that "When necessary, all relevant intelligence has been and continues to be communicated" between relevant entities.

The warning dispute is playing out against the backdrop of Israel’s war in Gaza, where the sources tie the Oct. 7 attack to a wider conflict and mass casualties.

“matado a 73.658 personas, en su mayoría civiles, según el Ministerio de Salud de Gaza.”

BÚSQUEDA

Búsqueda says Hamas militants killed at least 1.221 people in Israel on Oct. 7 and that Israel’s massive response has killed 73.658 people, "en su mayoría civiles," according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

AP similarly reported that Hamas militants killed some 1,200 people and took another 251 hostage in the Oct. 7 attack, and that Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,650 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

With Netanyahu’s actions around Oct. 7 framed as a key election issue, AP reported that Gadi Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of ignoring dozens of warnings ahead of the attack, writing, "He is unfit," while Naftali Bennett said, "Netanyahu bears personal and direct responsibility" for the deaths of thousands of Israelis on his watch.