UAE warned Netanyahu of major Hamas operation days before Oct. 7 attack, news report says — SkimNews
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- UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed warned Netanyahu directly 10 days before Oct. 7, 2023 that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning a major offensive that could destabilize the region and undermine the Abraham Accords, per Haaretz.
- Netanyahu reportedly reacted with 'relative calm,' assuring bin Zayed Israel was prepared and that an attack was more likely from the occupied West Bank; his office called the report 'an absolute lie,' denying any such conversation occurred.
- Netanyahu's political rivals — Gadi Eisenkot, his main electoral opponent, and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett — seized on the report, with Eisenkot accusing him of ignoring 'dozens of warnings' and Bennett saying he 'bears personal and direct responsibility.'
- With Israeli national elections next month, Netanyahu has rejected calls for an official government inquiry into the events surrounding Oct. 7.
- The Oct. 7 attack killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage; Israel's subsequent offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,650 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Why it matters: Israeli elections next month turn this into campaign ammunition: rivals Eisenkot and Bennett are already attacking Netanyahu over ignored warnings, and bin Zayed's framing of the threat as a risk to the Abraham Accords normalization — not just security — adds a diplomatic dimension to a political fight that Netanyahu's office denies outright.
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