Report: Netanyahu warned of Hamas attack days before October 7

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was personally warned that Hamas was preparing a major attack days before October 7, 2023, but did not relay the information to Israel’s top security chiefs, Haaretz reported on Tuesday.

According to the newspaper, Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed called Netanyahu roughly ten days before the assault and told him that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning a major operation that could cause bloodshed and destabilize the region.

Netanyahu reportedly played down the threat, saying he believed Hamas was more likely to act in the West Bank and that Israel was prepared.

His office has rejected the report as an “absolute lie,” insisting no such call took place.

The alleged advance notice has added to scrutiny over what Israeli leaders knew ahead of the Hamas-led assault and whether warning signs were ignored.

Haaretz previously reported that Sinwar had sent messages through Palestinian intermediaries warning that he was preparing an “earthquake.” The message reportedly reached Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security service, whose then-chief Ronen Bar briefed Netanyahu. Egyptian intelligence was also reported to have warned Israel shortly before the attack.

Israeli intelligence had separately obtained a Hamas battle plan known as ‘Jericho Wall’, outlining a cross-border assault, attacks on military positions and hostage-taking. The New York Times later reported that the document closely resembled the October 7 operation. Israeli officials have disputed how seriously the plan was taken and whether it was considered an imminent threat.

Netanyahu’s government has also faced criticism for allowing Qatari funds to flow into Hamas-run Gaza for years. Critics argue the policy ultimately strengthened the group Israel later went to war to destroy.

Questions have also been raised over Israel’s military response on October 7. Investigations have suggested that the so-called ‘Hannibal Directive’, which permits extreme measures to prevent the capture of soldiers, may have contributed to Israeli civilian deaths as forces struck vehicles and other locations where hostages or civilians may have been present.

Around 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas-led attack and 251 were taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza has killed more than 73,600 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.