From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, September 8, 2026
‘We share all relevant inteligence’: UAE doesn’t deny MBZ warned Netanyahu ahead of Oct. 7; PMO claims the reports are false
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleStav Levaton is a military reporter for The Times of Israel
The United Arab Emirates, in an official statement, neither confirms nor denies that Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shortly before Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught that the terror group was planning a major attack.
The UAE Foreign Ministry does not directly address the alleged warning, but stresses the two governments share all relevant intelligence. “UAE and Israeli government entities have maintained open and direct lines of communication since the inception of the relationship more than five years ago. When necessary, all relevant intelligence has been and continues to be communicated between the relevant parties.”
Haaretz reported earlier today that bin Zayed personally warned Netanyahu some 10 days before the onslaught that Sinwar was planning a major offensive against Israel. An Emirati source familiar with the conversation subsequently confirmed the report to The Times of Israel.
Netanyahu’s office, in an English statement, denies the report. “The press reports are false. No warning was given to the Prime Minister from the United Arab Emirates before October 7th,” the PMO says in a statement. “If there was any relevant information, it was passed through intelligence channels between the two countries.”
Meanwhile, senior Israeli officials who participated in security discussions ahead of the attack tell Channel 12 that they might have reached different conclusions and taken different action had Netanyahu informed them of the reported warning that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major operation.
“If we had known about Netanyahu’s conversations with the Emiratis, and apparently also with the Egyptians, there is a considerable likelihood that we would have reached different conclusions,” one senior official tells the network, calling the warning a “critical” piece of information.
“Had we known, we would at the very least have examined the matter more deeply,” another official says.
Channel 12 also reports that, days after the onslaught, former Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan told a close associate in frustration: “We passed warnings on to the Israelis. They did nothing with them.”
The Times of Israel Community.