Overview
- Netanyahu confirmed in a Channel 14 interview that an aircraft linked to Egypt’s intelligence was in Israel for roughly an hour days before the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack and said he did not meet or speak with Abbas Kamel.
- He has demanded an inquiry into who met the Egyptian official, saying security‑camera footage exists and that he wants the truth about how the visit was handled.
- Multiple news investigations reported that Egypt’s intelligence chief warned Israeli officials of a looming major Hamas operation and that the UAE president separately warned Israeli leadership about ten days before Oct. 7.
- Netanyahu blamed military and intelligence chiefs for not waking him on the night of Oct. 7, saying they feared a premature alert would trigger a wider attack, a claim that shifts scrutiny toward operational decisions inside the security services.
- The disclosures heighten election‑era stakes with calls for independent probes into intelligence routing and decision making, questions about differing media accounts of meetings and calls, and renewed focus on failures that preceded the Oct. 7 massacre and its toll on civilians.