The president of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Hamas was planning a major operation against Israel days before the October 7, 2023 attack. The information was published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing three senior foreign sources familiar with the content of the conversation.
According to the report, during a conversation of approximately 45 minutes that took place about 10 days before the attack, the Arab president warned Netanyahu that then Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning a major operation. Zayed expressed concern that an attack could lead to significant bloodshed, destabilize the region, and undermine the Abraham Accords.
Netanyahu ignored the warning, despite Zayed's appeals for him to take the threat seriously. The prime minister did not share the information with Israeli intelligence, according to reports heard by Haaretz. The conversation reportedly took place in a context of rapprochement between Israel and Arab countries.
