WASHINGTON:  A new report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz has sparked a political controversy in Israel after alleging that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was personally warned by United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan about preparations for a major Hamas operation around 10 days before the October 7, 2023 attack.

The report, based on an investigation by Haaretz journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval for an upcoming book, claims the two leaders spoke by telephone for approximately 45 minutes in late September 2023.

According to the report, bin Zayed raised concerns about Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and warned that Hamas was preparing a major military operation that could cause significant bloodshed, destabilise the region and threaten the Abraham Accords.

The allegations have intensified a long-running debate in Israel over what Netanyahu knew before the October 7 attack, when he allegedly received the information and how the Israeli government responded.

Netanyahu calls UAE warning report an ‘absolute lie’

Netanyahu’s office has categorically rejected the Haaretz report, saying the prime minister did not speak with the UAE president during the period described and did not receive such a warning.

Netanyahu has called the allegation an “absolute lie” and rejected the suggestion that he personally received intelligence about an imminent Hamas attack and failed to act.

His office has also argued that any intelligence exchanges between Israel and the UAE would have been conducted through established security and diplomatic channels.

The UAE has not publicly confirmed the alleged 45-minute telephone conversation. Its Foreign Ministry has declined to comment on reports concerning conversations between leaders while highlighting the longstanding communication and intelligence-sharing relationship between the two countries.

As a result, the alleged Netanyahu warning before October 7 remains a reported claim rather than an independently established fact.

What the Haaretz report claims

According to the investigation, information reaching the UAE suggested that Yahya Sinwar had become increasingly frustrated with the slow progress of negotiations involving Israel and Hamas.

The report says intermediaries involved in contacts between Israel and Hamas provided information indicating that Sinwar was preparing a major operation.

The UAE leadership allegedly became sufficiently concerned to raise the issue directly with Netanyahu.

According to Haaretz, bin Zayed warned that a large-scale Hamas operation could result in widespread bloodshed, destabilise the region and undermine the diplomatic framework established by the Abraham Accords.

The report further claims that Netanyahu responded calmly and indicated that Israel was prepared for possible scenarios.

However, according to the investigation, Netanyahu’s assessment allegedly focused more heavily on a potential threat from the West Bank rather than a major assault originating from Gaza.

The most significant allegation is that senior Israeli security officials were allegedly not informed about the warning.

If independently established, that could raise questions about both the prime minister’s knowledge and the way potentially important intelligence was handled at the highest levels of government.

October 7 attack exposed major security failures

Around 10 days after the alleged conversation, Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The attackers breached the Gaza border and targeted Israeli military positions and civilian communities in southern Israel.

About 1,200 people were killed, while 251 people were taken hostage, according to widely cited figures.

The attack triggered Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and contributed to a wider regional conflict involving Lebanon and Iran.

The scale and speed of the assault shocked Israel and exposed serious failures involving intelligence assessments, military readiness, border security and political decision-making.

Years later, responsibility for those failures remains one of the most contentious issues in Israeli politics.

Egypt also reportedly warned Israel

The controversy surrounding the alleged Netanyahu warning before October 7 comes amid earlier reports that Israel received other warnings about Hamas preparations.

Egyptian intelligence officials had reportedly raised concerns with Israel before the attack.

Israeli and international reporting has examined whether those warnings reached the appropriate authorities and whether they were properly interpreted.

A separate report linked to the latest controversy says Egyptian intelligence conveyed information indicating that Hamas was preparing an operation intended to “make the ground in Gaza tremble.”

The reports have renewed questions over whether Israeli officials underestimated Hamas’s capabilities and intentions.

Questions over Israeli intelligence failures

Investigations have also focused on warnings generated within Israel’s own security establishment.

Israeli surveillance personnel reportedly observed unusual Hamas activity in the months before October 7, including military training and preparations that later appeared to resemble aspects of the actual attack.

Despite those observations, Israeli authorities did not reach an assessment that Hamas was preparing to launch the kind of large-scale assault that ultimately occurred.

The intelligence failure has led to criticism of Israel’s military and intelligence agencies as well as the country’s political leadership.

The latest Haaretz allegations have intensified calls from opposition politicians for a comprehensive state investigation.

Opposition figures, including former military chief Gadi Eisenkot and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, have criticised Netanyahu and demanded accountability for what they describe as catastrophic failures.

Among the key questions are whether Netanyahu received a warning, why senior security officials may not have been informed, what intelligence was available before October 7 and why the Gaza threat was not treated as an imminent danger.

Netanyahu threatens legal action against Haaretz

The dispute has also moved into the legal arena.

Netanyahu has said he intends to take legal action against Haaretz and journalist Shlomi Eldar over the report, while the newspaper has stood by its journalism.

The controversy comes ahead of Israel’s next national election, which will be the first general election since the October 7 attack and the subsequent wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

The political stakes are therefore significant for Netanyahu, whose career has long been built around his reputation as a strong national-security leader.

The October 7 attack severely damaged that image and remains a major source of criticism from opponents.

With security, Gaza and regional conflict expected to dominate the election campaign, the new Haaretz report could add another contentious issue to the debate over Netanyahu’s leadership and accountability.