Netanyahu denies report that UAE warned him before October 7 attacks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied a report that the United Arab Emirates warned him before the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. The allegation has triggered a fresh political row in Israel, with opposition figures using it to renew criticism of his handling of security before the assault. The report said the warning was passed on more than a week before the attack, but Netanyahu's office rejected it as false.

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According to the report, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan allegedly told Netanyahu that Hamas was planning a major operation. Netanyahu's office called the claim "an absolute lie" and denied that he spoke to the Emirati leader at the time described. The report was said to be based on an excerpt from a forthcoming book and was published by a newspaper that cited mostly anonymous sources.

It also said Netanyahu responded calmly to the warning, a detail his office has disputed by rejecting the premise entirely. The claims quickly became part of the wider debate over responsibility for the deadliest attack in Israel's history. Gadi Eisenkot, a former military commander and one of Netanyahu's main rivals in the upcoming 27 October elections, accused the prime minister of ignoring repeated warnings and making excuses for the security failures.

Naftali Bennett, another former prime minister standing in the election, said Netanyahu bore personal and direct responsibility for the deaths on 7 October and should not remain in office. Their comments show how the attack continues to shape Israel's domestic politics nearly three years later. The dispute also touches on Israel's relations with the UAE, which normalised ties with Israel in 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords.

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Netanyahu has long presented those ties as one of his key foreign policy achievements, making any suggestion that Abu Dhabi warned him before the Hamas assault politically sensitive. The report also revived discussion of Netanyahu's approach to Hamas before the war, including his effort for years to preserve the status quo with the group. That policy has been criticised by opponents who say it left Israel exposed to a major security failure.

The 7 October attack, in which Hamas fighters stormed into Israel and carried out mass killings including at a music festival, remains central to the political and legal reckoning around the war. The report also referred to claims that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had warned a former Palestinian official that militants were preparing a major operation, which was then relayed through an Emirati adviser. Those details have not been independently verified in the supplied material, but they have added to the pressure on Netanyahu as he faces renewed scrutiny over what his government knew and when.

What remains unclear is whether any warning was in fact passed from Emirati officials to Netanyahu, and if so, what response followed. The immediate political impact is clear, however, with opposition leaders using the report to argue that he is unfit to serve. The issue is likely to remain part of the election campaign and the broader debate over accountability for the 7 October attacks.

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