Israeli Media Report Netanyahu Ignored Warning About Hamas Invasion Plan

[Financial News] Reports that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before Hamas, the Palestinian militant group in the Gaza Strip, launched a massive surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, have sent Israeli politics into turmoil. Israeli opposition leaders questioned Netanyahu’s qualifications as prime minister and called for his immediate resignation.
On the 8th (local time), Israeli daily Haaretz reported, in an excerpt released ahead of the publication of a new book by its reporters, that UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke with Netanyahu about a week and a half before the Hamas attack and told him, “Hamas is planning a large-scale operation.” According to Haaretz, the information originated with Yahya Sinwar, who was then the leader of Hamas. It was reportedly passed to the UAE president through a former Palestinian official and a UAE adviser before ultimately being conveyed to Netanyahu.
Immediately after the report, the Prime Minister’s Office categorically denied even having spoken with the UAE leader during that period, calling the report “a complete lie.” Opposition parties, however, launched a barrage of criticism ahead of the October 27 election.
Gadi Eisenkot, former Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, criticized the Prime Minister’s Office’s explanation as “a pathetic excuse,” saying, “Netanyahu received dozens of warnings before the October 7 disaster and ignored every one of them. He is unfit to lead the country.”
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also called for Netanyahu’s resignation, saying, “Netanyahu must bear direct and personal responsibility for the worst disaster in Israel’s history. He should not remain in that position for even one minute.”
According to official Israeli statistics, 1,221 people were killed and 251 were abducted and taken to the Gaza Strip in the Hamas militants’ surprise attack during the October 7 disaster. Israel’s ongoing full-scale war in response has reduced much of the Gaza Strip to rubble. The cumulative death toll has reached 73,658, according to Gaza health authorities.
[email protected] Yoon Jae-jun Reporter