TEL AVIV, September 9. /TASS/. The UAE authorities warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a potential large-scale attack by Hamas well before October 7, 2023, Haaretz reported.
The report is based on a new book, "Hostages: 843 Days of Abandonment," written by journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval after conversations with dozens of sources in Israel and around the world, including senior officials.
According to the journalists, about ten days before the October 7 attack, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan called Netanyahu to warn him that Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar was preparing a major attack on Israel.
The sources said the conversation had lasted about 45 minutes, with the UAE president expressing serious concern about Sinwar’s plans and warning that they could lead to bloodshed, destabilize the region and undermine the Abraham Accords between Israel and Arab countries. To his surprise, Haaretz reported, Netanyahu took the warning calmly, expressing confidence that Israel was in full control of the situation in Gaza. Netanyahu believed the threat could only come from the West Bank and reassured the UAE president that Israel was prepared for any scenario.
On October 7, 2023, armed members of Hamas and other Palestinian groups entered Israel from Gaza, killing residents of border communities and taking about 250 people hostage. Hamas described its attack as retaliation for the aggressive actions taken by Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel imposed a total blockade on the Gaza Strip and launched air strikes on Gaza, as well as parts of Lebanon and Syria, before beginning a ground operation in the Palestinian enclave. The active phase of the operation continued intermittently for nearly two years.
On October 9, 2025, Israel and Hamas, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, the United States and Turkey, agreed to implement the first phase of a peace plan proposed by US President Donald Trump. The Gaza ceasefire took effect on October 10. Under the deal, Israeli forces withdrew to the so-called yellow line but retained control of more than 50% of the Strip’s territory. The second phase calls for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave, the deployment of international stabilization forces and the establishment of new administrative institutions in the Strip. Israel, however, demands that Hamas units first be disarmed, which has not yet happened.