Netanyahu Faces Fresh Uproar Over Alleged UAE Warning Before Oct. 7 Hamas Attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a new political storm after reports said the president of the United Arab Emirates warned him that Hamas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a new political storm after reports said the president of the United Arab Emirates warned him that Hamas was planning a major attack days before October 7, 2023. The allegation lands at a sensitive moment for Netanyahu, with Israel heading toward elections less than two months away.
The Prime Minister’s Office called the report an “absolute lie,” and Netanyahu said he would sue over the claim. But the story has given his rivals fresh ammunition, reviving a bitter argument over how much warning Israel’s leadership had before the deadliest Hamas assault in the country’s history.
Opposition leaders demand inquiry
Four opposition figures — Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman and Yair Golan — issued a rare joint statement calling for an immediate and thorough investigation into Netanyahu’s “failures and malfunctioning.” They said the public deserves answers on what he knew, when he knew it, and why he did not alert the security establishment or act to protect civilians.
Bennett, a former prime minister, went further. He said the report was true and described Netanyahu’s alleged disregard for the warning as “criminal negligence.” Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid also said he had publicly warned of an attack before it happened.
The controversy centers on a reported call in September 2023 between Netanyahu and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed. According to the report, bin Zayed told Netanyahu that Hamas was preparing a “major operation,” after receiving word from intermediaries linked to Gaza. One account said the warning came about a week and a half before the Oct. 7 assault.
Questions over what was done with the warning
The report has intensified scrutiny of Netanyahu’s conduct before the attack. A separate account in Israeli media said the alleged warning was relayed to him and ignored, while another report said he did not brief security chiefs. Netanyahu has rejected that version of events, and his office has denied the allegation outright.
The political timing matters. Israel is moving toward an election campaign in which Netanyahu’s handling of security failures remains a central issue. His opponents are using the latest report to argue that he brushed off repeated warnings before Hamas fighters killed more than 1,000 people on October 7.
The UAE has maintained ties with Israel since the normalization deals brokered in 2020, making the reported warning especially sensitive. For Netanyahu, the dispute is now likely to continue beyond the headlines and into the campaign trail — and possibly the courts.
