Days before the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed directly warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning a massive operation, dubbed a ‘Zilzal’ or earthquake, according to an investigative report by Haaretz.
Key Revelations from the Report
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Direct Warning Call: During a 45-minute phone call about a week and a half before the massacre, bin Zayed urged Netanyahu to take the threat seriously, warning that an attack would cause bloodshed, destabilize the region, and undermine the Abraham Accords.
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Netanyahu’s Response: Netanyahu allegedly reacted with relative calm, claiming Hamas intended to target the West Bank and assuring the Emirati leader that Israel was prepared. Bin Zayed subsequently shared details of the conversation with CIA Director William J. Burns.
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Withheld Intelligence: Sources claim Netanyahu did not share the warning with top security chiefs—including the heads of Shin Bet, Mossad, and the IDF chief of staff. Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel reportedly issued a similar warning, which was similarly unshared.
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Missed Signals: The investigation highlights that a secret Shin Bet-Hamas dialogue channel had stalled earlier in 2023 because Netanyahu repeatedly delayed convening a ministerial committee to approve a prisoner exchange, fearing leaks or political fallout from hardline coalition partners.
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Political Fallout: Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett sharply criticized Netanyahu following the report, accusing him of steering the country blindly into disaster.
Official Response
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office strongly rejected the findings, calling the investigation an “absolute lie” and stating that Netanyahu had neither spoken with the UAE president during that period nor received any such warning.
