Fact check: Netanyahu was warned about an explosive attack by Hamas 10 days before October 7 and failed to alert…

Majority view

Multiple reputable reports, based largely on a Haaretz investigation and a forthcoming book by its reporters, state that UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed warned Benjamin Netanyahu in a 45‑minute phone call roughly 10 days before October 7 that Hamas was planning a major operation, and that Netanyahu did not pass this warning to the IDF chief of staff, defense minister, Shin Bet, or Mossad. These accounts describe the warning as serious and based on the UAE leadership’s assessment, and note that senior Israeli security officials later confirmed they were not informed of such a warning. However, Netanyahu’s office has publicly and categorically denied that such a call or warning occurred at all, calling the report an “absolute lie.” Because the allegation is based on anonymous sources and has been strongly disputed by the prime minister’s office, the evidence is mixed rather than conclusively establishing the claim as true.

Credible dissent

The substantial dissent comes from the Prime Minister’s Office, which issued an official statement saying Netanyahu “did not speak with the president of the United Arab Emirates during the period in question and did not receive any warning from him,” and characterizing the report about a pre‑attack warning as an “absolute lie.” In contrast, Haaretz’s reporters, Israel Hayom, The Guardian, and other outlets relay accounts from Emirati and Israeli sources claiming the warning call occurred and was not shared with Israel’s security chiefs. No independent official investigation has yet definitively confirmed or disproved the alleged call, leaving a clear conflict between the prime minister’s formal denial and journalistic reporting based on unnamed sources.