Netanyahu was ‘warned about October 7 by UAE president’

Binyamin Netanyahu received a warning that Hamas was planning a “major operation” against Israel from the ruler of the United Arab Emirates ten days before the massacres of October 7, 2023, a book has claimed. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the UAE president, initiated an “unusual” and long call directly with Netanyahu from the presidential palace in Abu Dhabi, according to a report of the book published in the Haaretz newspaper on September 8. Most commented 1 Activists attacked at Reform conference demand apology from Robert Jenrick Politics 903 comments 2 Chris Rokos, billionaire hedge fund founder, leaves UK Companies & Markets 1,320 comments 3 My 95-year-old mother was crushed by a lorry. The driver walked free Law 290 comments 4 Angela Rayner scraps shake-up of councils after gerrymandering claims Politics 372 comments 5 And it came to pass that John Healey was Rachel Reeves all along Politics 298 comments During the 45-minute call, bin Zayed warned that the Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, was planning a “major operation” against Israel that could “destabilise the entire region”. Yahya Sinwar in 2022 Rex “Bin Zayed expressed concern that the event in question would not only lead to bloodshed but also destabilise the entire region,” the report said. Top stories 1 Top five 2027 cruise and tour packages to book with Times Holidays Promoted content The book, Kidnapped: 843 Days of Abandonment, by Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval, who are both journalists, is said to be based on interviews with diplomatic sources and cites an adviser to bin Zayed who had direct knowledge of the conversation. Advertisement Netanyahu’s office strongly denied the claim, calling it an “absolute lie”, adding that there was no such call with bin Zayed and that the Israeli prime minister received “no warning from him”. Binyamin Netanyahu Nathan Howard/AFP The UAE government has not commented on the report. Top stories 1 Have menopause campaigns hurt women’s careers? Two high-flyers say yes Work 2 ‘My bladder is scarred. This is a substance far from harmless’ Health & Fitness 3 Assaults, bullying, complaints — the truth about being a doctor Health & Fitness The book is being published ahead of Israel’s general election in October, the first since the 2023 massacre in which 1,200 people died and more than 250 were kidnapped and taken to Gaza. The ensuing war has cost more than 73,000 lives, according to the Palestinian territory’s Hamas-linked health ministry. Israeli soldiers pray for October 7 victims Abir Sultan/EPA Netanyahu has been releasing new information surrounding the attack in recent weeks, including statements and timelines that diminish his responsibility for the mass security failure. However, he has refused to initiate a state commission of inquiry into the massacres despite the resignation of the majority of generals and intelligence officials, including the then army chief and the head of intelligence . Advertisement The book dislosing the call cites senior officials, recordings, internal documents and correspondence, including a close adviser to bin Zayed, who was reportedly present as the two leaders spoke. Haaretz reported that Sinwar, who was later found and killed by Israel in Gaza , had warned a former Palestinian official that the militants were preparing “a terrifying operation”, which he described as an “earthquake”. The former Palestinian official relayed the message to an Emirati adviser, who passed it on to the Emirati president, who then called Netanyahu, according to the newspaper. The adviser, a Palestinian who emigrated from Gaza to Abu Dhabi, said Netanyahu responded to the warning with “relative calm” — and did not pass it on to Israeli security services. The report of a prior warning from an Arab ally echoes the 1973 surprise attack on Israel, when Ashraf Marwan, an Egyptian-Israeli agent known as “the Angel”, warned Golda Meir, the then prime minister, that a war was about to break out. Advertisement Meir later resigned over the military unpreparedness for the war. Golda Meir visits a wounded soldier ten days after the surprise 1973 attack on Israel AFP Gadi Eisenkot , a former military commander who has emerged as Netanyahu’s top rival in the upcoming October 27 elections, accused the long-serving prime minister on September 8 of evading responsibility for security lapses and resorting to “pathetic” excuses, such as saying he was not woken up soon enough on the morning of the attack . Gadi Eisenkot, centre Erik Marmor/Getty Images “Netanyahu received dozens of warnings for October 7 and ignored them all. He is unfit,” Eisenkot wrote on X. Naftali Bennett, a former prime minister also standing in the election, said Netanyahu “bears personal and direct responsibility” for the casualties on October 7, the deadliest attack in Israeli history. Naftali Bennett, left, poses for a selfie with a supporter Erik Marmor/Getty Images “Netanyahu cannot continue to serve in his position for even one more minute,” Bennett said.