Overview
- Haaretz, The New York Times and The Atlantic report that UAE president Mohammed bin Zayed and Egypt’s intelligence chief Abbas Kamel warned Israeli officials in late September 2023 about a possible large-scale Hamas operation.
- The New York Times says bin Zayed’s warning included a direct phone call to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about plans by Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and that the call did not appear in the Oct. 1, 2023 security meeting record according to meeting minutes and former officials.
- The Atlantic reports that Abbas Kamel visited Israel around Sept. 26, 2023 and warned that Hamas was mobilizing, urging economic concessions to reduce the risk of an attack.
- Netanyahu’s office has rejected the accounts as false, called the reporting an 'absolute lie,' and announced plans for legal action against the Haaretz report.
- The converging investigative reports add pressure over established Israeli army and intelligence findings of failures on Oct. 7, 2023 and could influence voter views and accountability debates ahead of the Oct. 27, 2026 parliamentary election.