Four weeks before the Israeli parliamentary elections of October 27, 2026, reports of warnings that allegedly preceded the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, have reignited questions about what the government of Benjamin Netanyahu knew. Press investigations suggest warnings came from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Israeli intelligence services. The Prime Minister’s office disputes the revelations, stating that they do not establish that the government knew the date or the scale of the attack.
Warnings attributed to the Emirates
According to an investigation by the Israeli daily Haaretz , Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed called Benjamin Netanyahu before October 7, 2023. He allegedly warned him that Yahya Sinwar, then the Hamas leader in Gaza, was preparing a major operation against Israel. The newspaper reports that the conversation lasted 45 minutes. Netanyahu denies having received this warning.
Haaretz also reported that the Israeli prime minister had traveled to Abu Dhabi the weekend before the RFI article was published, in order to ask Mohammed bin Zayed to deny the existence of this call. The Associated Press also reported on this trip and its alleged purpose.
Egyptian intelligence also reportedly issued a warning.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel called Netanyahu a few days before the attack to warn him of an imminent threat from Gaza. According to RFI, Egyptian alerts began as early as June 2023.
An investigation by The Atlantic places Abbas Kamel’s visit to Israel on September 26, 2023, eleven days before the attack. The Egyptian official reportedly described a situation in Gaza that was likely to escalate. Israeli officials allegedly responded that the situation was under control. Netanyahu’s office also rejects this version of events.
Warnings from Israeli intelligence services
According to RFI, the alerts mentioned did not include any specific details about the timing or scale of the attack. The Prime Minister also reportedly received warnings from his own services: four letters from the Directorate of Military Intelligence between March and July 2023, as well as a warning from the Shin Bet, the internal security service.
Netanyahu claims he wasn’t woken up on the morning of October 7th. His rival, Gadi Eisenkot, campaigned with a satirical video game featuring a « Bibi » who evades security warnings. The question of the failures preceding the attack has thus become central to the campaign, as Israel prepares to commemorate the third anniversary of the events.
Netanyahu has so far refused to establish an independent commission of inquiry. As of RFI’s publication date of September 29, 2026, the information regarding the alerts is based on journalistic investigations disputed by his office; it is insufficient to establish precisely what the Prime Minister knew before the attack.
Source: RFI – News, information, live updates – Radio France Internationale (www.rfi.fr)
Original article: See the original source
Author: Frédérique Misslin
