UAE warned Netanyahu of Hamas plan days before 2023 attack? New report makes shocking claims | World News

UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan had warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Hamas was preparing a major operation days before the October 7 attack, according to a new Israeli media report.Netanyahu reportedly downplayed the warning even after the UAE president asked him to take the threat seriously, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported, citing three senior foreign sources familiar with the conversation.UAE warned Israel of Hamas attack?Mohamed bin Zayed spoke with Netanyahu about a week and a half before the attack and warned him that Hamas was preparing a major operation, according to Haaretz, which published an excerpt from a forthcoming book by its reporters.About ten days before the attack, Netanyahu was reportedly told in a 45-minute conversation that then-Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major operation against Israel. The UAE president also warned that such an attack could result in heavy bloodshed, create instability across the region and put the Abraham Accords at risk, the report said.Haaretz also cited a senior adviser to the UAE president as saying the information came through contacts involving a Palestinian intermediary who had links with both Hamas and Israeli security officials.The investigation said that in September 2023, Sinwar had conveyed, through an intermediary, that he was preparing a "zilzal," or an earthquake. He later referred to the planned attack as "the mother of all surprises" and "a terrifying operation."Netanyahu failed to act on warning: ReportThe report said Netanyahu responded in a calm manner after receiving the warning. The Israeli prime minister reportedly said he believed Hamas was planning to operate in the West Bank and assured the UAE president that Israel was ready to deal with any possible scenario.Netanyahu also reportedly did not refer to the warning in security discussions that followed before October 7. Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and former IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi both told Haaretz that they had not been told about the warning from the UAE president.The investigation further reported that Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel also spoke to Netanyahu around the same time and warned him about "something unusual, a terrifying operation" that Hamas was preparing. Netanyahu reportedly told him that Israel had the situation in Gaza under control and was instead focusing its attention and military presence on the West Bank.The report said Netanyahu also failed to raise either warning during an October 1 discussion about Gaza and Hamas.Netanyahu rubbishes reportNetanyahu's office described the newspaper's report as "an absolute lie" and said he had not spoken to the Emirati leader during that period."An absolute lie! Prime Minister Netanyahu did not speak with the president of the United Arab Emirates during the period in question and did not receive any warning from him," it said.Gadi Eisenkot, a former military commander who has become Netanyahu's main rival ahead of the October 27 elections, accused the long-serving prime minister of trying to avoid responsibility for the security failures."Netanyahu received dozens of warnings for October 7 and ignored them all. He is unfit," Eisenkot wrote on X.October 7 attackHamas entered Israel on October 7 in a rampage that included the mass killing of people at a music festival.The attack left 1,221 people dead, according to news agency AFP. The militants also took around 251 hostages to Gaza, 44 of whom were already dead.With inputs from agencies