Details emerge on Egypt’s warning to Netanyahu
Fresh details have emerged about warnings issued to Israel ahead of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, amid a report that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was warned by the United Arab Emirates about plans for a major assault in the weeks leading up to the invasion. No warning was given to the Prime Minister by the United Arab Emirates before October 7.
The Shin Bet intelligence service conveyed to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu warnings from its Egyptian counterparts that Hamas intended to “make the ground in Gaza tremble, according to Army Radio. In the days following the October 7 onslaught, an Egyptian intelligence official said Jerusalem had ignored repeated warnings that the Gaza-based terror group was planning “something big,” including an apparent direct warning from Cairo’s intelligence minister to Netanyahu, as cited by Times of Israel. Then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar assessed that the warning referred, at least in part, to Hamas seeking to raise the issue of kidnapped Israeli researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov in talks with Israel over a potential hostage deal, according to the report. The development comes as a new investigative report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz claimed that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed had warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a “major attack” against Israel. Bin Zayed was “surprised” by Netanyahu’s response, saying the Israeli prime minister did not appear “alarmed”, according to a UAE presidential adviser interviewed for the book. In a post on X, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said that any exchange of relevant information between the two countries took place solely through intelligence channels.
Netanyahu, however, reportedly did not share the warning with Israel’s senior security leadership. “The press reports are false. If there was any relevant information, it was passed through intelligence channels between the two countries,” it posted.