Israeli opposition leaders have intensified calls for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down following a report that the United Arab Emirates warned him days before Hamas launched its October 7, 2023 attack.
Haaretz reported, in an excerpt from a forthcoming book by two of its reporters, that UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke with Netanyahu about a week and a half before the attack and warned that Hamas was preparing a major operation.
Netanyahu’s office rejected the report as “an absolute lie”, saying the Israeli prime minister did not speak with the Emirati leader at the time.
The report has nevertheless reignited criticism over the security failures that preceded the attack, with Netanyahu’s political rivals accusing him of failing to act on warnings about Hamas.
Gadi Eisenkot, a former military commander and one of Netanyahu’s leading rivals ahead of the October 27 election, accused the prime minister of repeatedly evading responsibility.
“Netanyahu received dozens of warnings for October 7 and ignored them all. He is unfit,” Eisenkot said in a post on X.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, also contesting the election, said Netanyahu bore “personal and direct responsibility” for the deaths caused by the attack.
“Netanyahu cannot continue to serve in his position for even one more minute,” Bennett said.
According to Haaretz, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was later killed by Israel, had earlier told a former Palestinian official that the group was preparing a “terrifying operation” that would cause an “earthquake”.
The former official reportedly passed the warning to an Emirati adviser, who then conveyed it to Sheikh Mohamed, leading to the alleged call with Netanyahu.
The UAE established diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020 under the US-brokered Abraham Accords during Donald Trump’s first presidency. Netanyahu has frequently cited closer ties with the UAE as one of his government’s major achievements.
Haaretz, which based its account largely on anonymous sources, said Netanyahu responded calmly to the warning.
The report also touches on Netanyahu’s longstanding strategy towards Hamas, under which Qatar was allowed to channel funds into Gaza amid an assessment that the militant group was primarily interested in its own survival rather than a full-scale war with Israel.
Hamas fighters stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,221 people and taking 251 hostages, according to figures based on Israeli sources.
Israel responded with a devastating military campaign in Gaza. The territory’s Hamas-run health ministry says 73,658 people have been killed, with the enclave left largely in ruins.
