Overview
- Two U.S. investigations published this week say Egypt’s intelligence chief visited Israel on Sept. 26, 2023 and that the United Arab Emirates’ president phoned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in late September to warn of a major Hamas operation.
- Sources who reviewed meeting records and spoke to reporters say the alleged UAE call was not passed to Israel’s top security chiefs and was not mentioned at an Oct. 1, 2023 security meeting called by Netanyahu.
- Reporting stresses the foreign warnings did not include the Oct. 7 date, specific targets, or detailed operational plans and U.S. intelligence assessments at the time focused on possible rocket escalation rather than a cross‑border invasion.
- Netanyahu’s office denies he received a personal warning and has threatened legal action, while former officials including Yoav Gallant say they first learned of the foreign warnings from the media and note that Shin Bet had separate, earlier Hamas messages.
- The disclosures have widened calls for independent probes, increased political pressure ahead of the October election, and left the full factual record unconfirmed in any official public adjudication.