Overview
- Multiple investigations in late September 2026 corroborate that Egypt’s intelligence chief Abbas Kamel and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed delivered urgent warnings to Israel in the days before the October 7, 2023 attack.
- Flight and airport records cited by The Atlantic show a brief 67‑minute visit by Kamel to Ben Gurion Airport on Sept. 26, 2023, while The New York Times reports bin Zayed privately warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in late September 2023.
- Former Israeli officials and meeting minutes reported by investigators say those warnings did not include precise dates or operational plans and, according to several former officials, were not relayed to Israel’s senior security chiefs.
- Netanyahu’s office denies he received a personal warning and has threatened legal action over the reporting; Israeli media and the Associated Press report the prime minister made a surprise trip to the UAE to press the Emirati leader to deny the accounts.
- The revelations revive scrutiny of intelligence sharing and assessment before Oct. 7, point to gaps between regional tips and Israel’s security apparatus, and have increased political pressure for an independent probe ahead of Israel’s elections.