Was Netanyahu warned about Hamas attack before October 7th?

Israeli Prime Minister Claims It's an "Absolute Lie" That the President of the United Arab Emirates Warned Him More Than a Week in Advance Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate. The President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) personally warned Benjamin Netanyahu that Hamas was planning a major offensive against Israel, a week before the attack on October 7, 2023, but the Israeli prime minister did not respond to the warning, according to a book by a Haaretz journalist. The claim, which emerged in the midst of a crucial election campaign, led Israeli opposition leaders to declare Netanyahu 'unfit' to serve as prime minister. Netanyahu, however, dismissed the report as an 'absolute lie' and denied that he had spoken to the Emirati president at the time, the Guardian reports. Haaretz reports that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was later killed by Israel, warned a former Palestinian official that the militants were preparing a "frightening operation," which he described as an "earthquake." According to the newspaper, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan spoke with Netanyahu about a week and a half before the attack and told him that Hamas was planning a major operation. These allegations, published by Haaretz today, further increase the pressure on the Israeli prime minister, who is already facing harsh criticism for the government's actions in the run-up to the October 7 attacks. Hamas killed more than 1.200 people and took 251 others hostage during the attack. Hundreds of Israelis, mostly soldiers, died in the fighting that followed in the wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. In Israeli retaliation, much of Gaza was destroyed, and more than 73.000 Palestinians were killed. These allegations are made in the book 'Hostages: 843 Days of Abandonment,' which the authors say is based on dozens of sources from Israel and around the world, including very senior officials. According to Haaretz, Bin Zayed frequently spoke with senior Israeli officials, including Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, and a United Arab Emirates diplomat provided the Israeli prime minister with a phone with a secure connection for these conversations. A week and a half before October 7, journalists report, bin Zayed called Netanyahu from the presidential palace in Abu Dhabi and, during a 45-minute conversation, warned him that Sinwar was planning a major operation, which the UAE president feared could destabilize the region. To bin Zayed's surprise, Netanyahu took the news calmly, the report said. In a joint statement released today, several leaders of Israeli opposition parties announced that they would try to determine what Netanyahu knew and when he found out, as well as whether he took any action. "Why didn't he notify the security services and why didn't he take measures to protect the citizens of Israel?" they asked in a statement. Gadi Eisenkot, a former military commander who emerged as Netanyahu's main rival in the October elections, accused the longtime prime minister of avoiding responsibility for security lapses and resorting to "pathetic" excuses, such as claiming that he was not woken up on time on the morning of the attack. "Netanyahu received dozens of warnings in the run-up to October 7th and ignored them all. He is unfit to hold this position," Eisenkot wrote on the X network. Naftali Bennett, a former prime minister who is also running in the election, said Netanyahu 'bears personal and direct responsibility' for the deaths on October 7, the deadliest attack in Israeli history. 'Netanyahu cannot remain in office for a minute longer,' Bennett said. The leader of the center-left Democratic Party, Yair Golan, accused Netanyahu of "endangering Israel." "The story of 'no one woke you up' is over. You knew, you ignored, you failed, it's your fault," Golan said in a video posted on social media. Many Israelis are demanding the formation of an independent state commission to investigate the security lapses that prevented the Hamas attack. Opposition parties say that forming such a commission, whose members would be appointed by the Supreme Court, would be one of their first moves if they win the election. Netanyahu's government has rejected that proposal. See more: Download the app and follow the news FOLLOW US ON