Was Netanyahu warned of Hamas' Oct 7 attack before it happened?

The Hamas-led assault on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, marked a watershed moment for West Asia.

The unprecedented attack killed about 1,200 people and triggered Israel’s devastating military campaign in Gaza, setting off a chain of events that would reshape the region.

Nearly three years on, the war has killed more than 70,000 people and fuelled a wider cycle of confrontation that has drawn in actors across West Asia.

Now, a new book by reporters from Israeli newspaper Haaretz has raised fresh questions, claiming that United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed Zayed Al Nahyan personally warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (above) a week before the attack that Hamas was preparing a large-scale offensive.

The Guardian reported that the authors of the book titled “Hostages: 843 Days of Abandonment” said it is based on dozens of sources in Israel and worldwide, including very senior officials.

The allegation, emerging during a crucial election campaign, has prompted opposition leaders to question Netanyahu’s fitness to remain in office.

Netanyahu has rejected the account as an “absolute lie”, denying that he spoke to the Emirati leader at the time.

According to Haaretz, a week before the Oct 7 attack, Sheikh Mohamed personally alerted Netanyahu of Hamas’ plans.

The report said Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (above), who was subsequently killed by Israel, had separately told a former Palestinian official that his group was planning “a terrifying operation”, describing it as an “earthquake”.

Sheikh Mohamed was reportedly in regular contact with senior Israeli figures, including Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog. According to Haaretz, a UAE diplomat had even provided Netanyahu with a secure phone to facilitate such communications.

The UAE president allegedly spoke to Netanyahu for about 45 minutes from the presidential palace in Abu Dhabi.

During the call, Sheikh Mohamed (above) purportedly warned that Yahya was preparing a large-scale operation that could destabilise the region.

Haaretz also mentioned that Sheikh Mohamed was taken aback by Netanyahu’s reportedly calm response to the warning.

Netanyahu’s office rejects claims

Netanyahu’s office has rejected the claims, saying: “If there was any relevant information, it was passed through intelligence channels between the two countries".

The allegations have nevertheless gained political significance in Israel, with national elections less than two months away.

Netanyahu’s main political opponents - Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman and Yair Golan - issued an unusually unified statement demanding “an immediate and thorough investigation” into what they described as Netanyahu’s “failures and malfunctioning”.

“The Israeli public is entitled to know: What did Netanyahu know, when did he know, why he didn’t update the security establishment, and why didn’t he act to protect Israeli civilians?” the four opposition leaders said, according to CNN.

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