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A warning from United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan that Hamas was considering a major attack never reached Israel's security chiefs before Oct. 7, 2023, The New York Times (NYT) reported.
Days after the call, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his security chiefs the goal was to keep Gaza calm, citing hopes of normalization with Saudi Arabia, according to meeting minutes reviewed by the Times.
Netanyahu has denied receiving any such warning.
Israelis vote Oct. 27 in their first national election since the Hamas-led attack, and responsibility for the security failures that preceded it has become a dominant campaign issue.
Sheikh Mohammed called Netanyahu in late September 2023 and said Hamas was considering a major attack, two people who said they had spoken with someone on the call told the NYT.
The warning did not specify whether Hamas planned rocket fire or a ground invasion, one of the people said.
The original source of the intelligence is unclear, the newspaper reported.
Sheikh Mohammed later referred to the call in a conversation with then-CIA Director William Burns, saying he had warned Netanyahu of a looming Hamas threat in Gaza or the occupied West Bank, according to a person familiar with that discussion.
Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which first reported the call earlier this month, said Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had told a former Palestinian official that the group was preparing "a terrifying operation" that he described as an "earthquake."
The message was relayed to an Emirati adviser and then to Sheikh Mohammed, according to Israeli media.
Netanyahu convened security chiefs on Oct. 1, 2023, to discuss Gaza but did not mention the Emirati warning, according to the minutes. Five former senior Israeli officials told the Times the warning never reached the heads of Israel's security establishment.
At the meeting, Netanyahu pushed back when some security officials said Israel should consider strikes on senior Hamas leaders in Gaza who were overseeing attacks on Israelis in the West Bank, the minutes show.
He argued that any Israeli action in Gaza could sabotage the prospect of Saudi Arabia establishing diplomatic relations with Israel, a deal he believed was imminent, according to the report.
An Israeli state ombudsman report found Netanyahu had instructed security bodies to pursue a policy of "postponing conflicts" and "preserving Hamas as an effective, restrained, and restraining governing authority."
The call is not mentioned in any internal investigations into the Oct. 7 failures, according to the five former officials, who were involved in those assessments.
After the Haaretz report, Netanyahu's office said in a statement, "No warning was given to the Prime Minister from the United Arab Emirates before October 7th."
Netanyahu said any intelligence from the Emiratis would have been passed through intelligence channels.
The UAE Foreign Ministry said it does not comment on media speculation but acknowledged "open and direct lines of communication" with Israel. "When necessary, all relevant intelligence has been and continues to be communicated between the relevant entities," it said.
Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief who has emerged as Netanyahu's top rival, wrote on X: "Netanyahu received dozens of warnings for October 7 and ignored them all. He is unfit."
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Netanyahu "bears personal and direct responsibility" for the deaths. "Netanyahu cannot continue to serve in his position for even one more minute," Bennett said.
Democratic Party leader Yair Golan said: "The stories about 'no one woke me up' are over. You knew, you ignored, you failed, you are to blame."
Opposition parties said in a joint statement that the Haaretz report "joins a series of revelations concerning Netanyahu's failures" and "once again underscores why Netanyahu is fighting for his life, to thwart the establishment of a state commission of inquiry and to thwart revealing the truth to the Israeli public."
Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Liberman said in a video posted Thursday on X: "I call on everyone to say things clearly: Netanyahu bears responsibility for Oct. 7, and he must go home."
"There is no meaning in saying that no one is responsible here, because Netanyahu's government is responsible for the events of Oct. 7," Liberman said.
Netanyahu has rejected an independent state commission of inquiry and instead advanced a government-appointed probe, which the opposition says lacks independence.
The UAE warning report adds to the Oct. 7 responsibility debate as Israelis head to the polls Oct. 27, with neither side showing a definitive lead.
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