Report Says the UAE Warned Netanyahu of a Coming Hamas Attack Before October 7

A new book, cited by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, says that about ten days before the October 7, 2023 attack, President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates telephoned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to warn that Yahya Sinwar, then the Hamas leader in Gaza, was preparing a major operation against Israel, TASS reported.

A senior Middle Eastern intelligence official confirmed to the Israeli outlet Ynet that Abu Dhabi passed Israel a warning from a source it regarded as very credible, saying Hamas was preparing a significant and imminent action, Ynet reported in Hebrew. The official said the information was treated with great seriousness in Abu Dhabi but declined to describe how it was conveyed or whether the two leaders discussed it directly. Netanyahu denies the account. Ynet's headline frames the dispute as contradictory versions rather than a settled fact, and no document has been published that resolves it.

The claim matters beyond Israeli domestic politics. It describes Gulf states operating as an intelligence channel into Israel while maintaining relations with the actors on the other side of the conflict, a role that has since expanded into mediation across the region. Whether or not the specific call happened as described, the reported channel is consistent with how Gulf capitals have positioned themselves since.