Report: Netanyahu warned of Hamas attack two weeks before Oct 7, failed to act

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was warned of a potential large-scale attack from Hamas nearly two weeks before October 7, 2023, but refused to pass that warning down to anyone else in the government, according to a new report from Haaretz.

Key Findings

• September 15, 2023: Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet received a warning about an impending "earthquake" and a "huge surprise" from Hamas. The warning was relayed to Netanyahu.
• September 17, 2023: The defense ministry held a meeting to discuss the threat, but no decisions were made.
• Following the lack of action, United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed spoke directly with Netanyahu for 45 minutes, urgently trying to convince him of the likelihood of an attack.

Breakdown of Negotiations

According to the report, Netanyahu had earlier scuttled talks with Hamas by:

• Reducing the number of Palestinian prisoners he agreed to release
• Postponing the committee intended to facilitate prisoner and hostage exchanges

These actions led frustrated Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to end negotiations entirely in September 2023, just weeks before the October 7 attack.

The UAE Warning

Bin Zayed warned Netanyahu that "something there is about to explode." Netanyahu assured him he was ready for anything.

"The emir hoped that despite his reserved response, Netanyahu would take the message seriously and take action," an adviser told Haaretz.

Netanyahu chose not to brief anyone in the IDF or Mossad about bin Zayed's warning.

Aftermath

Approximately 1,200 Israelis were killed on October 7. Their deaths were subsequently used to justify a conflict that has resulted in the deaths of nearly 75,000 Palestinians.

"If we had known about the warnings, there's a chance it would have given more weight to the first message we received from Sinwar," a senior Shin Bet official told Haaretz. "Perhaps it would also have clarified what was behind his sudden withdrawal from the talks in early September. It's possible we would have put two and two together and reached a completely different conclusion from the one we did, one that would have changed our entire assessment picture."

Reactions

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett

"Netanyahu bears personal and direct responsibility for the failure that led to the deaths of thousands of Israelis on his watch. His ignoring of the warnings is criminal negligence, and therefore he is doing everything to prevent the establishment of a state commission of inquiry that will expose the truth."

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"He did not go to the field, did not warn the heads of the security system, did not prepare Israel for the attack, and did not convene the cabinet."

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"Netanyahu cannot continue to serve in his position for another minute, and he certainly is not capable of fixing it. If we do not replace this government, we will never know the truth that will only be revealed in a state commission of inquiry, because they are preventing its establishment out of fear of discovering the terrible truth."

Ryan Grim, Drop Site News

"It's crucial to remember that the Nova music festival was supposed to end on Friday, October 6, but the organizers reached out to the IDF to get permission to extend it for an extra day. We know that warnings were everywhere at that point, yet the IDF approved the extension and added no security."

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"Now we know, from new reporting in Haaretz, that Netanyahu had explicitly been warned 10 days earlier that Hamas was planning an 'earthquake' of an attack."

Mehdi Hasan, Zeteo

"Insane story. He was warned two weeks before the Oct. 7th attacks by the Emiratis about an imminent attack by Hamas—and did nothing."

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"No wonder Netanyahu has always wanted to drag out this war and block any chance of a proper independent investigation into Oct. 7th."

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