New research puts Netanyahu under pressure over Hamas warnings

At the beginning of September, journalists Schlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval reported on such information in a book and in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. Accordingly, Mohammed bin Zayed, ruler of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), spoke on the phone with Netanyahu a week and a half before the Hamas attack. According to the report, he issued a warning: Hamas boss Yahya Sinwar was planning an operation against Israel that would have consequences far beyond Israel and Palestine and could therefore destabilize the entire Middle East. Netanyahu is said to have not informed decision-makers in the Israeli security apparatus about the phone call.

Prime Minister Netanyahu categorically rejected the report. But now the pressure is increasing, a month before the upcoming parliamentary elections.

New York Times investigation puts Netanyahu under pressure

New research by the New York Times supports the Israeli journalists' report. A person who spoke to Mohammed bin Zayed and a person who was informed about the phone call confirmed the information. Accordingly, bin Zayed told Netanyahu that Hamas was considering a large-scale attack.

However, according to five former high-ranking Israeli officials, the Emirati leader's warning never reached senior Israeli security officials, according to the New York Times. According to the report, Netanyahu called his security chiefs to a meeting on October 1, 2023 about the situation in the Gaza Strip and made no mention of the warning, according to the minutes of the meeting. At the meeting, Netanyahu simply said that calm must be maintained in Gaza.

Netanyahu has not yet commented on the report.

More warnings to Israel

The US portal “The Atlantic” is now also reporting a similar warning to Israel. Accordingly, Egypt's secret service chief Abbas Kamel is said to have flown to Tel Aviv on September 26, 2023. According to the report, it is unclear who exactly he met in Israel. However, he is said to have warned the government that the terrorist organization Hamas was apparently preparing for a large-scale attack. In its report, The Atlantic cites Israeli, Egyptian, Arab, US and European officials who were informed about Kamel's visit.

Kamel is said to have recommended to the local Israeli government that it make economic concessions to Hamas. According to a former Israeli official, the message was: If you don't change course, the Gaza Strip will blow up in your face. It is unclear how the Israeli security forces responded to the warning.

Eleven days later, Hamas attacked Israel, triggering the Gaza War. Since then, more than 73,900 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority. The statistics do not differentiate between civilians and armed fighters.