Netanyahu denies being warned of impending Hamas attack 10 days before October 7By Matthew Doran with wires
Posted Thu 10 Sep 2026 at 10:03amThu 10 Sep 2026 at 10:03amThu 10 Sep 2026 at 10:03am
In short:
Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Benjamin Netanyahu was warned 10 days before October 7, 2023 that Hamas was planning an imminent attack.
Mr Netanyahu has denied the report and threatened the newspaper with libel.
What’s next?
Israel is holding national elections in October and Mr Netanyahu’s actions around the time of the Hamas attack are a key issue in the campaign.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is threatening to sue one of his country’s newspapers, after it reported he was warned of Hamas’s deadly October 7, 2023, attacks more than a week before they were launched.
On Tuesday, newspaper Haaretz published a report detailing a conversation between Mr Netanyahu and United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed 10 days before October 7, in which the sheikh warned him that Hamas was planning an imminent attack.
Sheikh bin Zayed said it would lead to bloodshed and could destabilise the region and undermine the Abraham Accords, the normalisation agreements between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority nations, the newspaper reported.
Haaretz said that warning was not passed on to Israeli defence or intelligence officials.
Netanyahu describes report as ‘absolute lie’
The Israeli prime minister “reacted with relative calm”, according to Haaretz, which said he assured Sheikh bin Zayed that Israel was prepared for any scenario and a possible attack was more likely to come from the occupied West Bank.
Mr Netanyahu rejected the report as an “absolute lie”, saying there was no phone call with the Emirati president at any point in September or early October 2023 and that it was an attempt to smear him before the Israeli election next month.
His lawyers have written to the newspaper threatening a libel suit but Haaretz insists it stands by its reporting.
Mr Netanyahu has rejected calls for an official government inquiry into the events surrounding the October 7, 2023, attack.
“If there was any relevant information, it was passed through intelligence channels between the two countries,” a statement from his office said.
The UAE’s Foreign Ministry also said that it would not comment on “speculation regarding conversations between government leaders”.
Israel and the UAE have maintained “open and direct lines of communication” since they formally established ties five years ago, the statement said.
“When necessary, all relevant intelligence has been and continues to be communicated,” the UAE statement said.
Israel is holding national elections next month and Mr Netanyahu’s actions around the time of the Hamas attack are a key issue in the campaign.
Gadi Eisenkot, a former top general who is seen as Mr Netanyahu’s main opponent in election, accused the prime minister of ignoring dozens of warnings ahead of the attack.
“He is unfit,” Mr Eisenkot wrote on social media.
Another of Mr Netanyahu’s rivals, Naftali Bennett, said: “Netanyahu bears personal and direct responsibility for the failure that led to the deaths of thousands of Israelis on his watch.”
Strikes on Gaza continue
On October 7, 2023, Hamas militants launched a surprise attack in Israel, killing more than 1,200 people, and taking 251 more hostage, according to Israeli authorities.
In response, Israel declared war with Hamas and launched strikes on Gaza that killed more than 73,650 Palestinians and injured hundreds of thousands, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
A US-backed ceasefire took effect in October 2025, but it did not end the conflict entirely, with reports on September 1 this year that Israeli air strikes in Gaza City killed at least three Palestinians, including two children.
Israel said such operations were intended to prevent attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups.
But Hamas accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire and undermining efforts to advance a broader plan by US President Donald Trump to end the war, which includes further Israeli troop withdrawals from Gaza and the disarmament of Hamas.
More than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire came into force last October, according to Gaza health officials.
ABC/AP