Jerusalem- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was personally warned by United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, known as MBZ, about a planned major Hamas operation against Israel roughly 10 days before the October 7, 2023, attack, according to a report published by Haaretz.
An Emirati source familiar with the conversation confirmed to The Times of Israel that the warning was delivered during a 45-minute phone call between Netanyahu and MBZ in late September 2023. According to the report, MBZ warned that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major operation that could cause significant bloodshed, destabilize the region and potentially damage the Abraham Accords between Israel and Arab countries.
The report, based on a new book titled Kidnapped: 843 Days of Abandonment by journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval, said Netanyahu appeared calm during the conversation. He reportedly told MBZ that Israel was closely monitoring the situation in Gaza, suggested that any major Hamas move was more likely to take place in the West Bank and assured him that Israel was prepared for various scenarios.
However, Netanyahu’s office strongly denied the report, saying no warning was given to the prime minister by the UAE before October 7. The office said that any relevant information would have been transmitted through intelligence channels between the two countries. The UAE also declined to confirm or deny the specific conversation, saying that open communication channels with Israel had been used to share relevant intelligence.
The report also details failed negotiations between Israel and Hamas over prisoners and hostages in 2023. According to the book, indirect talks involving Hamas official Ghazi Hamad and a senior Fatah intermediary were close to producing an agreement by the summer of that year.
The negotiations eventually stalled, and Sinwar reportedly cut off contact with negotiators in early September. Before disappearing from Israeli intelligence radar, however, he allegedly met privately with the Fatah intermediary and issued a warning.
“Tell the Israelis if they don’t advance, I’m preparing a huge surprise for them,” Sinwar reportedly said. He described the coming operation as a zilzal, an Arabic word meaning “earthquake.”
The intermediary reportedly feared approaching Israeli intelligence directly and instead conveyed the warning to MBZ. The Emirati president then asked what Sinwar meant by the term, according to the report.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorists launched a large-scale attack across southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages to Gaza. The attack triggered a prolonged war that has since had consequences across the wider Middle East.
The latest report could add further scrutiny to questions surrounding Israel’s intelligence and political failures in the period leading up to the October 7 attack.
