Journalist says he knows who met with Egypt intel chief before Oct. 7; senior security officials say it wasn’t them

Journalist Shlomi Eldar, who published a report claiming that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was warned by the Emirati president before the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, says he knows who met with Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel in the same period.

Last night, Netanyahu said in an interview that Abbas landed in Israel in September 2023, but that he doesn’t know which Israeli official he met with, and hasn’t been able to find out.

“If Netanyahu wants to know, he should give me a call — I’ll tell him who was on the phone too, besides the face-to-face meeting during those 61 minutes. By the way, there are security cameras,” writes Eldar on X.

Israel’s top security and intelligence officials deny to Army Radio that they met with Kamel in Israel on September 26, 2023.

Then-defense minister Yoav Gallant, IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Shin Bet director Ronen Bar, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, IDF Military Intelligence head Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, and Defense Ministry Political-Military bureau chief Dror Shalom all say they did not meet with him.

Then-Mossad chief David Barnea was photographed with Gallant, Halevi, and Bar at a memorial ceremony for soldiers who fell during the Yom Kippur War.

Deputy Shin Bet head N. and past COGAT director Ghassan Alian also deny meeting with him.