Netanyahu confirms on air that the Egyptian intelligence chief landed in Israel days before Oct. 7

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Tuesday night, in an interview on Channel 14, a report in The Atlantic that former Egyptian intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel, landed in Israel a few days before the October 7 massacre.

However, Netanyahu claimed that no meeting took place between the two at that time, as Netanyahu was at a memorial ceremony for the fallen of the Yom Kippur War.

The prime minister also said that he does not know whom the Egyptian official met with, and demanded to know who met with him. "He did not meet with me, because I was at a memorial ceremony for IDF soldiers at that time. The exact time is known, so it was a lie from the outset. He did not meet with me; he did not speak with me. There is another question here: there was an Egyptian Intelligence Minister here; he spent 59 minutes on the ground, and I want to know whom he met with."

Netanyahu further stated in the interview, "He did not speak to me. Since when does an intelligence chief speak with a head of state? It never happened to me; there's no such thing."

However, two years earlier, in 2021, Netanyahu hosted Kamel at the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem.

Several weeks ago, The Atlantic published an investigative report according to which the former head of Egyptian intelligence landed in Israel for a lightning visit 11 days before the massacre of October 7th, during which he warned of a major Hamas attack. The report also alleged the former intel chief said, "If you do not change course, Gaza will blow up in your face."

After the publication of the report, the Prime Minister's Office denied that Netanyahu met with Kamel, but did not deny that he landed in Israel.