Well-placed Western sources have revealed that the United Arab Emirates refused to bow to pressure from the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to issue an explicit denial of a phone call between UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Netanyahu days before the October 7, 2023 attack.
The sources told El Medio Oriente that during the call, Bin Zayed warned Netanyahu that Hamas was preparing to carry out a "major operation" from the Gaza Strip — one that could have serious repercussions and set off a "regional earthquake."
According to the sources, Abu Dhabi's stance amounted to a political embarrassment for Netanyahu, particularly with Israeli elections approaching, after the Emirati Foreign Ministry declined to deny that the call took place — precisely the outcome Netanyahu and his circle had been seeking, by the same account.
The sources said Abu Dhabi spent all of yesterday refusing to answer dozens of calls from Netanyahu's office, which pleaded for an Emirati denial of the alleged contact. They added that Netanyahu tried to enlist figures in the US administration to press Abu Dhabi into issuing that denial — but Washington refused to intervene as well.
The sources noted that Abu Dhabi views the policies of Netanyahu's government with growing concern and displeasure, particularly regarding Jerusalem, the West Bank and the continuing war in Gaza, believing that prolonged military operations and mounting Palestinian casualties threaten the political track the US administration is trying to advance.
A Message From Gaza Before the Explosion
The sources revealed that the Emirati warning came in the context of Palestinian messages relayed to several parties, at the request of Hamas's leadership, aimed at warning of the dangers of the continuing Israeli blockade and the deteriorating humanitarian and security conditions in the Gaza Strip.
Those messages carried, according to the sources, proposals aimed at easing the blockade and opening a path to negotiations over the prisoners file — including the possibility of an exchange deal covering Palestinian prisoners in return for Israeli captives and the remains of Israelis held by Hamas in the enclave.
This account follows an investigation published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz which, drawing on sources, documents and diplomatic testimony, reported that Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed held a phone conversation with Netanyahu roughly ten days before the October 7 attack.
According to the investigation, the call lasted about 45 minutes, during which Bin Zayed informed Netanyahu that Sinwar was preparing a wide-scale operation that could carry major regional consequences — while Netanyahu, as the paper reported, replied that Israel was prepared for any scenario.
Netanyahu Denies; Abu Dhabi Neither Confirms Nor Denies
Confronted with the Haaretz report, Netanyahu's office categorically denied that the prime minister received any Emirati warning before October 7, describing the investigation's contents as an "absolute lie" and insisting that relevant information flowed through the usual intelligence channels.
The Emirati Foreign Ministry, by contrast, neither confirmed the details of the call nor denied that it happened — saying only that it does not comment on speculation about conversations between leaders, and pointing to the direct, open channels of communication between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv.
Observers argue that leaving the account of the call standing without an explicit Emirati denial may open the door to new political and security questions inside Israel about the nature of the warnings that preceded October 7 — and whether Netanyahu's government treated them with the seriousness they required.
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