Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lays a wreath during a state memorial ceremony for those killed in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, at Mount Herzl Cemetery in Jerusalem, October 5.
Debbie Hill/Pool UPI via AP
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Debbie Hill/Pool UPI via AP
TEL AVIV, Israel — As Israel marks the third anniversary of the launch of Hamas’ surprise attacks on Oct. 7, Israelis are reeling from new revelations from Israeli and U.S. media that the country had been repeatedly warned by its regional allies that Hamas was planning to attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was personally warned of a potential Hamas attack, and his security agencies were briefed multiple times, in the weeks and days leading up to October 7, 2023, four people in the Middle East with direct knowledge of the warnings told NPR.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz, The New York Times And The Atlantic was the first to report the warnings.
Netanyahu has denied being warned, calling the reports “fake news” and filed a defamation lawsuit last week against the Israeli media outlets that published them. He and his defense minister have issued new warnings that Hamas may attempt to attack or “challenge” Israel on this October 7 Memorial Day and in the run-up to national elections later this month.
But the security failure of October 7, 2023 – along with Netanyahu’s repeated refusal to take responsibility – has become a lightning rod in Israel as the prime minister seeks another term in this month’s national elections.
“You did not protect my son,” shouted a grieving Israeli father whose son was killed in the Hamas-led attack, as the prime minister spoke this week at a memorial ceremony for the victims.
A message from the leader of Hamas in Gaza
A warning came directly from Hamas’ leader in Gaza a few weeks before Oct. 7, a Palestinian mediator told NPR and other media outlets.
Former Palestinian Authority official Sufian Abu Zaida said he helped mediate secret Hamas-Israel talks for more than a year, until October 7. He said Hamas wanted Israel to release Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and in exchange offered to release two living Israeli hostages and the bodies of two Israeli soldiers held in Gaza for years. But he added that Israel was not willing to release as many prisoners as Hamas had requested.
On September 14, 2023, Abu Zaida said, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar dictated to him a message to convey to Israel: “By the end of September, we will put our cards on the table. There will be an earthquake in the negotiations and the Israelis should prepare to empty their prisons.
He did not know what type of earthquake Sinwar was talking about, but said he sent the message to an Israeli intelligence official who acknowledged receiving it and to Mohammed Dahlan, a Palestinian confidant of the UAE leader.
“What happened on October 7 was unnecessary,” Abu Zaida told NPR.
A phone call from the Emirati leader
Days before the October 7 attacks, UAE leader Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan called Netanyahu and told him that the Hamas leader in Gaza was planning a major attack on Israel, according to a person close to Dahlan. Dahlan was the Palestinian Authority’s security chief in Gaza before Hamas took control of the territory in 2007.
The Emirati leader told Netanyahu in a phone call that lasted more than 40 minutes that an “earthquake” would hit the region if no progress was made on a prisoner deal between Hamas and Israel, the person said.
The person spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic sensitivity of the call. The phone call had already been reported by Haaretz And THE New York Times.
The United Arab Emirates did not deny this information, simply saying that it was maintaining dialogue with Israel.
People visit a memorial at a police station attacked by Hamas on October 7, 2023, three years ago, in Sderot, southern Israel, on October 4.
Oded Balilty/AP
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Oded Balilty/AP
Egypt’s top intelligence official warned Israel, official says
A senior Egyptian official told NPR that Egypt had specific intelligence on Hamas’ movements and that then-Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel visited Israel with two other senior officials and met with Israeli intelligence chiefs Mossad and Shin Bet.
The official said Kamel relayed a warning that Gaza was on the verge of an “explosion” due to the Israeli blockade, the condition of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails and fears that Israel might move to annex the occupied West Bank.
The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The Atlantic reported that Kamel’s visit to Israel took place on September 26.
Former Israeli adviser says Egypt repeatedly warned Israel
Nimrod Novik, a fellow at the Israel Policy Forum think tank and former top adviser to the late Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, told NPR that he was informed before October 7 by a person with direct knowledge that Egypt had warned several senior Israeli officials that “Gaza is about to blow up in your face.”
Novik said a warning was an “urgent and dramatic message” from Egypt, addressed to someone close to Netanyahu about 10 days before October 7.
“I am certain that the issue of October 7 early warnings will continue to generate heightened emotions as Election Day approaches,” Novik said. “This is going to be an indictment of history, not just the election.”
Netanyahu blamed Israeli security organizations for failing to stop the October 7 attacks. He and his government have yet to create a state commission of inquiry to investigate the Oct. 7 failures, despite public demand.
The new reports of warnings to Israel “actually turn history on its head,” pointing the finger at the prime minister, said Gayil Talshir, a political scientist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
“This violates the fundamental narrative that Netanyahu is trying to tell Israelis,” Talshir said.
NPR’s Aya Batrawy contributed to this report.
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