Report: Netanyahu failed to relay UAE warning of Hamas attack to security chiefs
NYT: Despite pre-Oct. 7 warning, Netanyahu told aides strikes on Gaza could jeopardize Saudi normalization talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a warning from the United Arab Emirates’ president that Hamas was considering a major attack but did not pass it to Israel’s security chiefs before October 7, 2023, The New York Times reported Friday.
Netanyahu denied receiving the warning.
The newspaper cited one person who said they had spoken with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and another who said they had been briefed by someone on the call between the two leaders. Both said the Emirati president had privately alerted Netanyahu to the threat.
Five former senior Israeli officials told the newspaper that the warning never reached the heads of Israel’s security establishment.
Netanyahu convened his security chiefs on October 1, 2023, to discuss Gaza, but did not mention the warning, according to meeting minutes reviewed by The Times.
At that meeting, Netanyahu advocated maintaining calm in Gaza to protect efforts to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia, the report said. Some security officials favored strikes against senior Hamas figures who directed attacks in the West Bank.
The meeting took place six days before the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that saw the deadliest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.