The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said it does not comment on media reports or speculation concerning conversations between government leaders, in what appeared to be a response to an Israeli newspaper report claiming that UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the October 7, 2023 attack carried out by the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, under the name “Al-Aqsa Flood”.
In a statement published on X, the ministry said: “Since October 7, the UAE’s efforts have focused on de-escalation, strengthening regional stability and reducing violence.”
The ministry added that government agencies in both the UAE and Israel have maintained open and direct channels of communication since relations between the two countries began more than five years ago.
“When necessary, all relevant intelligence information has been, and continues to be, exchanged between the concerned authorities,” the statement said.
The ministry did not specify which media reports it was addressing. Earlier on Tuesday, however, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed had warned Netanyahu during a phone call on September 23, 2023 that Hamas intended to carry out an attack.
According to Haaretz, Netanyahu ignored the warning and did not pass the information to senior officials in Israel’s security establishment.
Netanyahu’s office denied the reports, saying the prime minister had received no warning from the UAE before the October attack. It added, however, that if relevant information had existed, it would have been passed through intelligence channels between the two countries.
Bennett Says Haaretz Report Is Correct
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett, meanwhile, confirmed the Haaretz report and held Netanyahu “personally and directly responsible for the failure that led to the deaths of thousands of Israelis under his rule”.
Bennett added that Netanyahu had become so captive to his own assumptions that he ignored clear warnings from regional leaders.
On October 7, Hamas launched an attack on military bases and settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip, killing and capturing dozens of Israelis. The movement said the attack came in response to “the occupation’s daily crimes against the Palestinian people and their holy sites, particularly Al-Aqsa Mosque”.
Israeli military, intelligence and political officials have described the October 7 attack as an unprecedented political, security and military failure, while Netanyahu has refused to accept responsibility for it.
Since October 8, 2023, Israel, with US support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, leaving more than 73,000 Palestinians killed and more than 174,000 wounded, most of them women and children.
