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United Arab Emirates

(Left) Hamam al-Hammami, the copilot who tried to bring down a flydubai flight to Israel in a terror attack on September 30, 2026, seen in an undated image from his recently deleted LinkedIn profile; (right) al-Hammami seen after he was subdued and bound on the plane. (Channel 12 screenshot)
Pilot moved toward extremism as early as 2017 in Australia
UAE confirms flydubai copilot was planning 9/11-style ‘suicide attack’ on Ben Gurion Airport
By Reuters and ToI Staff
Attorney general says Hamam al-Hammami used two previous flights to Tel Aviv to 'familiarize himself with route and airport,' prepared by viewing pro-terror material and taking boxing lessons
This official government handout photo shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosting Egyptian spy chief Abbas Kamel at his official residence in Jerusalem, May 30, 2021. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
October 13, 2026, 5:45 pm
Reports of unheeded Oct. 7 warnings may be tenuous, but still are dangerous for Netanyahu
Much about claims around Gulf leaders alerting PM before attack leaves room for doubt, but that does not mean voters will dismiss serious questions about Netanyahu’s handling of the Hamas threat
By Lazar Berman
Passengers from flydubai flight FZ1073 walk with their family members after they were saved from an alleged attempt to crash their plane, at Ben Gurion Airport, September 30, 2026. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)
October 11, 2026, 11:51 am
Flydubai passengers said preparing huge class-action suit against airline, governments
Suit reportedly to seek hundreds of millions from Israel, UAE as some 100 of attacked plane’s 174 passengers sign on, led by bank exec Tzvika Manes who helped subdue attacker
By ToI Staff
Passengers from flydubai flight FZ1073 walk through the arrivals hall at Ben Gurion International Airport, after their original flight from Dubai to Israel made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia following a terror attack by the copilot, who attacked the captain and tried to crash the plane, September 30, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
October 4, 2026, 9:41 pm
Security hurdles slow airlines’ effort to bring stranded Israelis home from Dubai
Air bridge is delayed as heightened security demands following the flydubai terror attack force checked luggage onto separate planes from passenger flights
By Sharon Wrobel
Flights take off from Ben Gurion Airport on September 30, 2026. (Yossi Aloni/FLASH90)
October 4, 2026, 7:17 pm
Flydubai terrorist said to tell investigators he intended to crash plane into Ben Gurion Airport
Copilot Hammami then tried to crash airliner in desert after hero pilot opened cockpit door, passengers burst in; also said to reveal he originally planned attack for July, but canceled at last moment as he had a friend among crew members
By Nava Freiberg and ToI Staff
Transportation Minister Miri Regev attends a Likud party conference ahead of the party’s primary elections in the northern city of Haifa, August 4, 2026. (Sharon Leibel/Flash90)
October 4, 2026, 4:45 am
Regev passes buck on probing pilots, as Israel said ‘racing’ to ID more potential threats
As flydubai fallout continues, Transportation Ministry says flights aren’t 100% safe and it doesn’t do background checks on foreign pilots; report: Omani attacker had flown to Tel Aviv before but Israel knew nothing about him
By ToI Staff
A sculpture made by India’s sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik depicts India’s pilot Smit Machchhar, the captain of flydubai flight FZ 1073, at a beach in Odisha’s Puri city on October 1, 2026. (AFP)
October 3, 2026, 5:16 pm
UAE says flydubai copilot used cockpit emergency ax to attack captain in ‘terrorist act’
Gulf state’s top prosecutor says probe into Omani attacker ongoing; Dubai’s crown prince visits wounded captain, says he ’embodied highest degrees of courage, care for human life’
By Agencies and ToI Staff
Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, speaks at the Hili Forum 2026 in Abu Dhabi on September 7, 2026. (FADEL SENNA/AFP)
October 2, 2026, 5:47 pm
In first, senior UAE official calls flydubai plane attack an ‘act of terrorism’
Anwar Gargash warns against ‘simplistic interpretations’ and conspiracy theories surrounding incident; PM says Israel investigating whether attacker acted alone, warns ‘whoever sent him will pay heavy price’
By Nurit Yohanan, Lazar Berman and ToI Staff
Passengers disembark from a flydubai Boeing 737 MAX from Dubai to Tel Aviv which landed at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia, September 30, 2026. The rudder shows damage. The flight faced a terror attack mid-air, with the copilot subdued after stabbing the captain in an alleged attempt to crash the plane full of Israelis, September 30, 2026 (Social media: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
October 2, 2026, 1:07 am
Before flydubai attack, dozens of Omani pilots flew to TLV despite ban — report
Pilots from nations without Israel ties are prohibited from flying into country, but authorities reportedly trusted airlines to enforce rule and Shin Bet did no background checks
By ToI Staff
Parked airplanes at Ben Gurion Airport, August 8, 2020 (Olivier Fitoussi/FLASH90/File)
October 1, 2026, 7:36 pm
Israeli carriers to start UAE repatriation flights Friday after flydubai cockpit attack
After flydubai suspends Tel Aviv route, El Al, Arkia and Israir plan special flights to pick up stranded Israelis from Dubai; others seek return via nearby Cyprus and Greece
By Sharon Wrobel
L: President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. R: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Maxim Shipenkov/Pool Photo via AP, Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)
September 30, 2026, 11:52 pm
Netanyahu, Sa’ar speak to Emirati counterparts, vow cooperation after flydubai attack
Foreign Ministry briefs Israeli diplomats that attemped hijacking was attack on Abraham Accords; US AG says Washington coordinating with Mideast counterparts; flydubai temporarily suspends route
By Nava Freiberg, Jacob Magid, ToI Staff and Agencies
Passengers embark on a FlyDubai aircraft at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, Israel, September 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
September 30, 2026, 10:26 pm
Israel to expand security checks on pilots after flydubai airplane attack
PM orders authorities to ‘ramp up security’ on flights operated by Israeli and non-Israeli carriers alike, as questions arise about UAE civil aviation regulator’s vetting process
By Reuters
Deputy Commander of the Libyan National Army, Lieutenant General Saddam Haftar looks on before his meeting with the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in Athens, on June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
September 29, 2026, 5:17 pm
Report: Netanyahu met son of powerful Libyan general in Abu Dhabi
Italian daily suggests Saddam Haftar, whose warlord father rules the country’s east and who’s a contender for the presidency, sat down with the Israeli leader to secure support
By Lazar Berman and AP
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, on April 4, 2023. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
September 28, 2026, 11:08 pm
Ex-Shin Bet chief says he’ll sue Netanyahu for claim he withheld pre-Oct. 7 warnings
After PM accused him of not informing him of impending Hamas attack, Ronen Bar says he warned of disaster but PM ignored him, calls for release of documents, demands PM’s staffers testify
By Lazar Berman and ToI Staff
L: President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. R: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Maxim Shipenkov/Pool Photo via AP, Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)
September 28, 2026, 5:44 pm
Netanyahu flew to UAE to ask MBZ to deny giving him pre-Oct. 7 warning of Hamas attack – sources
Both sides confirm trip one day later, but PMO denies it had anything to do with trying to quash report about Emirati leader’s alert; Shin Bet files complaint to military censor, claiming network that revealed trip before PM returned put him at risk
By AP and Lazar Berman
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) gives a statement, May 13, 2026. (Maayan Toaf/GPO); Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, arrives at the Dubai Air Show in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, November 17, 2025. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)
September 28, 2026, 2:27 am
Netanyahu said to secretly fly to Abu Dhabi for meeting with Emirati president
No comment from either side on PM’s reported 4-hour trip, which comes after reports that UAE’s leader warned premier of Hamas attack shortly before October 7 onslaught in 2023
By Lazar Berman, Reuters and ToI Staff
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