UAE warned Netanyahu of major Hamas operation days before Oct. 7 attack, news report says

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JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was directly warned by the president of the United Arab Emirates that Hamas was planning a major offensive just days before the militant group attacked on Oct. 7, 2023, according to an Israeli newspaper report.

UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed spoke with Netanyahu 10 days before the attack and said Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza at the time, was planning an operation, the Haaretz daily said.

Bin Zayed said it would lead to bloodshed and could destabilize the region and undermine the Abraham Accords, the normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority nations, the newspaper reported.

But Netanyahu “reacted with relative calm,” according to Haaretz, which said he assured bin Zayed that Israel was prepared for any scenario and a possible attack was more likely to come from the occupied West Bank.

Hamas militants killed some 1,200 people and took another 251 hostage in the Oct. 7 attack. Hundreds of Israelis, mostly soldiers, have been killed in continued fighting in wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Haaretz reported Netanyahu's office called the report an “absolute lie” and said Netanyahu did not speak with the UAE president “during the period in question and received no warning from him.”

Netanyahu has rejected calls for an official government inquiry into the events surrounding the Oct. 7 attack.

His office denied Tuesday that the UAE gave him a warning. “If there was any relevant information, it was passed through intelligence channels between the two countries,” the statement 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. It added: “When necessary, all relevant intelligence has been and continues to be communicated.”

Israel is holding national elections next month and Netanyahu's actions around the time of the Oct. 7 attack are a key issue in the campaign.

Gadi Eisenkot, a former top general who is seen as Netanyahu’s main opponent in election, accused the prime minister of ignoring dozens of warnings ahead of the attack.

“He is unfit,” Eisenkot wrote on social media.

Another Netanyahu rival, Naftali Bennett, said, “Netanyahu bears personal and direct responsibility for the failure that led to the deaths of thousands of Israelis on his watch.”

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 73,650 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.