A new book by two Israeli journalists claims Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a personal warning from the president of the United Arab Emirates that Hamas was preparing a large-scale offensive against Israel about a week before the October 7, 2023 attack. The account was published on September 8.
The allegation, made by reporters from the newspaper Haaretz, states that Netanyahu was alerted to the coming assault but did not act on the warning. The attack killed roughly 1,200 people in Israel and led to the abduction of some 250 others, triggering the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu rejected the claim outright. He called the report an “absolute lie” and denied speaking to the Emirati leader at the time described in the book.
The book landed during an election campaign in Israel, sharpening its political weight. Opposition leaders seized on the account to describe the prime minister as “unfit” for office, arguing that any advance warning ignored would represent a failure of national security.
The dispute reopens long-running questions about intelligence failures surrounding the attack. Israeli officials and independent commissions have examined what warnings existed before October 7 and why they were not acted upon. The book adds a fresh and contested claim to that record.
The controversy arrives as British policy toward Israel has shifted. London has taken firmer positions on the conduct of the war and on Israeli settlements, part of a wider recalibration among some Western governments. Britain earlier moved to restrict trade tied to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, a decision that drew criticism from both Israel and the United States.
Analysts note that such diplomatic pressure could ease if a more moderate government were to emerge from the current Israeli election, complicating the trajectory of Western engagement with Israel.
Netanyahu has faced sustained domestic criticism over his handling of both the security lapses preceding the attack and the prolonged war that followed. The book’s authors stand by their reporting, while the prime minister’s office maintains its denial.
No independent confirmation of the UAE warning has been made public, and the Emirati government has not commented on the account. The competing claims leave the central factual question unresolved as Israeli voters weigh the campaign.