Haaretz says UAE warned Netanyahu

What's happened

Haaretz has published book excerpts saying UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed warned Benjamin Netanyahu in late September 2023 that Hamas was planning a major operation. Haaretz says Netanyahu reacted calmly and did not inform Israel's security chiefs; Netanyahu has denied the call, instructed lawyers to sue Haaretz, and rivals have seized the story ahead of the Oct. 27 election.

What's behind the headline?

What the new claim means

• Haaretz has presented a new sourcing trail — interviews, documents and a Palestinian adviser to the UAE — that, it says, shows Mohammed bin Zayed told Netanyahu in late September 2023 that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a "huge surprise." Haaretz reports Netanyahu responded calmly and did not update security chiefs.

Who benefits and who loses

• Netanyahu is losing political ground because the allegation directly challenges his argument that security chiefs, not he, bore primary responsibility for the October 7 failures. The story will increase pressure on his campaign and will force his team to litigate rather than to reframe the narrative.

Why this is breaking now

• The book excerpts have been published weeks before Israel's Oct. 27 election. The timing will intensify scrutiny of Netanyahu's wartime leadership and will push opponents to demand accountability and possibly a public inquiry.

Likely next steps

• Netanyahu will continue to deny the account and pursue legal action; Haaretz will defend its reporting. Rival politicians will use the report to press for investigations and to portray Netanyahu as politically vulnerable. This will increase the political salience of intelligence oversight in the remaining campaign weeks.

Broader consequence

• The allegation will push debates about pre-7 October warnings back into the centre of Israeli politics, and will shape voter calculations about competence and accountability ahead of the election.

How we got here

The report draws on a book by Haaretz journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval and cites dozens of sources. It follows earlier reporting that Egypt and others warned Israel before the October 7, 2023 attack that killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, and it is unfolding during a heated campaign for Israel's October 27 general election.

Our analysis

Haaretz (reporting by Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval) has published excerpts from a book it says is based on dozens of interviews, documents and a Palestinian adviser to the UAE. Haaretz claims Mohammed bin Zayed made a 45-minute call warning Netanyahu that Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major operation and that Netanyahu did not alert Israel's security chiefs. The Times of Israel has quoted survivors and bereaved relatives who have publicly accused Netanyahu of long-term policy failures and cited the Haaretz reporting; it has also published corroborating accounts from Emirati sources and criticised Netanyahu's denial. The BBC Business account summarised Haaretz's extracts and Haaretz's standing defence, noting Haaretz has rejected Netanyahu's defamation threat. AP News, France 24, The New Arab, Arab News and other outlets have reported the same core claim and the denials; they emphasise that the UAE and Netanyahu have issued careful non-denials or outright denials. Al Jazeera and other commentators frame the story as part of a pattern in which Netanyahu is using legal and political tactics to push back against damaging reporting. Direct quotes: Haaretz says bin Zayed warned the call "would not only lead to bloodshed but also destabilise the entire region." Netanyahu has called the story a "complete lie" and said his call logs show no trace of such a conversation, and his office has said any attempt to suggest otherwise is a "sinister libel." The UAE Foreign Ministry has said it "does not comment on media stories or speculation regarding conversations between government leaders." These differences — Haaretz's sourced detail versus Netanyahu's categorical denial and the UAE's careful non-response — will keep the dispute alive through the election period.

Go deeper

• Will Netanyahu file the defamation suit before the election and will the court act quickly?
• Will any Israeli or foreign intelligence agency publicly confirm or deny the reported phone call?
• Will opposition figures demand a formal inquiry into pre-October 7 warnings and ministerial decisions?

More on these topics

• Benjamin Netanyahu - Prime Minister of Israel

  Benjamin Netanyahu is an Israeli politician serving as Prime Minister of Israel since 2009, and previously from 1996 to 1999. Netanyahu is also the Chairman of the Likud – National Liberal Movement.

• Israel - Country in the Middle East

  Israel, formally known as the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia, located on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea.

• Hamas

  Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist militant organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

• United Arab Emirates - Country in the Middle East

  The United Arab Emirates, sometimes simply called the Emirates, is a sovereign state in Western Asia at the northeast end of the Arabian Peninsula on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south and west, as well as sharing m

• Haaretz - Newspaper

  Haaretz is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner format.

• Yahya Sinwar - Palestinian politician and Hamas leader (1962–2024)

  Yahya Sinwar is the current Palestinian leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, having taken over from Ismail Haniyeh in February 2017. He was one of the co-founders of the security apparatus of Hamas. He is the second most powerful figure within Hamas.

• Gaza - Wikimedia disambiguation page

  Gaza most commonly refers to: Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea Gaza City, a city in the Gaza Strip Gaza may also refer to:

• Shin Bet - Security agency

  The Israel Security Agency, better known by the acronym Shabak or the Shin Bet, is Israel's internal security service. Its motto is "Magen veLo Yera'e".

• Israel Defense Forces - Defense force

  The Israel Defense Forces, commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal, are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force, and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has

• Ronen Bar - Head of Shin Bet

  Ronen Bar is the current head of the Israeli Security Agency, also known as the "Shin Bet". He replaced Nadav Argaman, the former Director General of the ISA.

• Naftali Bennett - Former Minister of the Economy of Israel

  Naftali Bennett is an Israeli politician who led the Jewish Home party between 2012 and 2018 and currently serves as an MK for New Right.

• Gaza Strip

  The Gaza Strip, or simply Gaza, is a self-governing Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, that borders Egypt on the southwest for 11 kilometers and Israel on the east and north along a 51 km border.

• West Bank

  The West Bank is a landlocked territory near the Mediterranean coast of Western Asia, bordered by Jordan to the east and by Israel to the south, west and north. The West Bank also contains a significant section of the western Dead Sea shore.

• Likud - Political party

  Likud, officially the Likud – National Liberal Movement, is a centre-right to right-wing political party in Israel. A secular party, it was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing parties.

• Tel Aviv - City in Israel

  Tel Aviv, officially Tel Aviv-Yafo, and also known as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a population of 494,900, it is the economic and technologi

• Abu Dhabi - Capital of the United Arab Emirates

  Abu Dhabi is the capital and the second-most populous city of the United Arab Emirates. The city of Abu Dhabi is located on an island in the Persian Gulf, off the Central West Coast.

• Herzi Halevi - Military officer

  Herzl "Herzi" Halevi is a major general in the Israel Defense Forces and the current chief of the Israeli Southern Command. Halevi is the first Orthodox Jew to serve as head of Israeli military intelligence.

• Mahmoud Abbas

  Mahmoud Abbas, also known by the kunya Abu Mazen, is the President of the State of Palestine and Palestinian National Authority.

• Egypt - Country

  Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula.

• Itamar Ben-Gvir - Israeli lawyer

  Itamar Ben-Gvir is an Israeli lawyer, and a leader in the Israeli far-right Otzma Yehudit party. He is known for defending Jewish radicals on trial in Israel. He has called for the expulsion of Arab citizens of Israel who are not loyal to Israel.

• Qatar - Country in the Middle East

  Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country located in Western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula.

• Mossad - Intelligence agency

  Mossad, short for HaMossad leModiʿin uleTafkidim Meyuḥadim, is the national intelligence agency of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with Aman and Shin Bet.

• The Knesset

  The Knesset is the unicameral national legislature of Israel. As the legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister, approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government.

• Channel 14 - Wikimedia disambiguation page

  Channel 14 or TV14 may refer to:

• Mohamed bin Zayed - Political leader

  Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, colloquially known by his initials as MBZ, is the Crown Prince of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces.

• Yair Golan

  Aluf Yair Golan is a retired major general in the Israel Defense Forces who served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces and is currently an MK for Meretz.