Israeli PM Netanyahu under fire over Haaretz report alleging UAE warned of Oct 7 attack

Israeli PM Netanyahu under fire over Haaretz report alleging UAE cautioned of Oct 7 attack.

Key points

• The UAE normalised ties with Israel in 2020 as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords under US President Donald Trump's first administration.
• The massive Israeli offensive in response has left most of Gaza in ruins and killed 73, 658 individuals, according to the Gaza health ministry.
• The attack killed 1, 221 individuals, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
• Naftali Bennett, a former prime minister additionally running in elections, stated Netanyahu "bears personal and direct responsibility" for the deaths on Oct 7.

Israeli PM Netanyahu under fire over Haaretz report alleging UAE cautioned of Oct 7 attack. AFP Published September 8, 2026 Updated September 8, 2026 01: 09pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

Israeli opposition leaders on Tuesday called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unfit to serve after a report that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had cautioned him before the Oct 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

Haaretz newspaper, in a report excerpted from a forthcoming book by its reporters, remarked UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke to Netanyahu a week-and-a-half before the attack and informed him that Hamas was planning a major operation.

Netanyahu's office called the report by the left-leaning newspaper "an absolute lie" and denied he spoke to the Emirati leader at that time.

Gadi Eisenkot, a former military commander who has emerged as Netanyahu's top rival in upcoming Oct 27 elections, accused the long-serving prime minister of evading responsibility for security lapses and resorting to "pathetic" excuses, such as saying he was not woken up shortly enough on the morning of the attack.

"Netanyahu received dozens of warnings for Oct 7 and ignored them all. He is unfit, " Eisenkot wrote on X.

"Netanyahu cannot continue to serve in his position for even one more minute, " Bennett remarked.

According to Haaretz, hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, afterwards killed by Israel, had cautioned a former Palestinian official that Hamas was preparing "a terrifying operation" which he described as an "earthquake".

Notably, the former Palestinian official relayed the message to an Emirati adviser. This person passed it on to the Emirati leader who then called Netanyahu, according to the newspaper.

For context, the UAE normalised ties with Israel in 2020 as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords under US President Donald Trump's first administration.

Meanwhile, the newspaper, quoting mostly anonymous sources, remarked that Netanyahu replied calmly to the warning.

Netanyahu for years had sought to preserve the status quo with Hamas. It would receive funding via Qatar with an understanding Hamas was more interested in self-preservation than a devastating war with Israel.

Hamas stormed into Israel on Oct 7. The attack killed 1, 221 individuals, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Hamas fighters additionally took to Gaza some 251 hostages, 44 of them already dead.

Meanwhile, the massive Israeli offensive in response has left most of Gaza in ruins and killed 73, 658 individuals, according to the Gaza health ministry.

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