Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a warning from UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan about the possibility of a major Hamas attack shortly before October 7, 2023, but did not relay it to Israel’s security chiefs, according to a report by The New York Times.
Citing two people familiar with the conversation, the newspaper reported that the UAE president called Netanyahu in late September 2023 and warned that Hamas was considering a significant attack.
The warning reportedly did not establish the form such an attack might take, including whether it would involve rocket fire or a ground assault.
Five former senior Israeli officials told the newspaper that the information was never passed to the heads of Israel’s security establishment.
According to minutes reviewed by The New York Times, Netanyahu convened senior security officials on October 1 to discuss the situation in Gaza but did not mention the reported warning from the UAE president.
The newspaper said the meeting instead focused on maintaining calm in Gaza. Netanyahu reportedly opposed proposals from some security officials to consider targeting senior Hamas figures, arguing that military action could undermine efforts at the time to normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The report adds a new dimension to continuing scrutiny over what Israeli political and security officials knew in the weeks preceding the Hamas-led October 7 attack and how available intelligence was handled.
Netanyahu has denied receiving such a warning. He issued the denial after Israeli newspaper Haaretz first reported the alleged September 2023 conversation earlier this month.
The New York Times also reported that Sheikh Mohammed later discussed the call with then-CIA Director William Burns. According to the newspaper, the UAE president told Burns that he had warned Netanyahu about an emerging Hamas threat involving either Gaza or the occupied West Bank.
The accounts concerning the warning and its handling are based on sources cited by The New York Times and remain disputed by Netanyahu.