Report: Egypt’s spy chief warned Israel of major Hamas attack 11 days before Oct. 7

Egypt’s then-intelligence chief Abbas Kamel visited Israel 11 days before the Hamas-led October 7 attack and warned officials that the group appeared to be preparing a major assault, The Atlantic reported.

The magazine cited Israeli, Egyptian, Arab, US and European officials briefed on the visit after the attack. Kamel urged Israel to grant Hamas economic concessions to avert a conflict, telling Israeli officials that time to prevent a disaster was running out, according to the report.

Tzachi Hanegbi, Israel’s national security adviser at the time, denied to the magazine that the visit took place or that Egypt delivered any warning. Netanyahu’s spokespeople did not respond to repeated requests for comment. His office previously denied that Kamel personally warned the prime minister.

Kamel reportedly arrived at Ben Gurion Airport on September 26, 2023, aboard a chartered Cessna linked to Egyptian intelligence. An Israel Airports Authority flight log showed the aircraft remained on the ground for 67 minutes before returning to Cairo. Independent flight-tracking services also confirmed the journey, the magazine said.

The report did not establish which Israeli officials met Kamel. He provided neither a date nor specific details of the attack that Hamas subsequently carried out, according to the officials cited.

The visit coincided with a ceremony in Jerusalem marking the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, where Netanyahu spoke about the intelligence failures preceding the surprise Egyptian and Syrian assault. “We do not underestimate any threat,” he said.

Netanyahu attended a classified briefing after the ceremony, according to his public schedule, and subsequently approved economic concessions to Hamas. The Atlantic said it remained unclear how Israeli officials handled Kamel’s warning, but officials from seven countries told the magazine that the visit should have alerted senior Israeli leaders to the threat.