Netanyahu again denies Egyptian spymaster warned him before Oct. 7 of potential Hamas attack

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office pushes back on a report in The Atlantic that Egypt’s intelligence chief Abbas Kamel came to Israel less than two weeks before the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion to warn Israeli officials that the Gaza-based terror group could escalate drastically if they were not granted economic concessions.

“This is a false claim,” says the PMO, without specifying what claim it says is false. “It was already denied at the time, and it is now being recycled in an attempt to mislead the Israeli public.”

“On October 11, 2023, Egypt officially denied that it warned Israel of the October 7 assault,” Netanyahu’s office further added. It’s not immediately clear what he is referring to, however, as Egyptian media with close ties to the country’s intelligence services at the time quoted unnamed senior security sources denying Israeli press reports that such a warning was issued, without issuing any formal government denial.

As was first reported two days after the terror atrocities, Netanyahu’s office denies that he met or spoke with Kamel in the months before October 7, “and no Israeli intelligence official conveyed such a warning to the prime minister.”

“Repeated falsehoods will not become true, even if they are repeated over and over again,” says the PMO.

Agencies contributed to this report.