UAE Leader Reportedly Warned Netanyahu Before Oct. 7 Attack

Two people familiar with a late-September 2023 conversation say United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Hamas was considering a major attack, but five former senior Israeli officials say the warning did not reach the country’s security leadership. Netanyahu denies receiving the warning, leaving the call’s contents and his knowledge of it disputed. According to the two people, one of whom said they had spoken with bin Zayed and the other with someone who took part in the call, the Emirati leader relayed information that Hamas was planning an attack. One said the warning did not specify whether it would involve rockets or a ground invasion. The original source of the intelligence is unclear, as are other subjects the leaders may have discussed. Minutes from a meeting on October 1, 2023, reviewed by investigators, do not mention the reported warning. The record says Netanyahu urged officials to maintain calm in Gaza and argued that Israeli military action there could jeopardize the prospect of diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.