Netanyahu did not brief the country's security officials after the call from United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed on September 23, 2023, writes the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
And this weekend, the Israeli leader made a secret trip to Abu Dhabi, where he held an hour-long meeting with bin Zayed, AP writes, citing sources and the television channel Keshet 12.
Multiple warnings
According to one of the sources, the conversation focused on the Haaretz publication: Netanyahu allegedly asked Mohammed bin Zayed to deny the information about the warning, something his own office also did, calling it "an absolute lie."
In parallel, The Wall Street Journal publishes information that Egypt warned Israel three times in the fall of 2023 about an impending attack from Gaza.
At the last warning, intelligence chief Abbas Kamel is reported to have personally called Netanyahu.
The information is, to say the least, troubling for the Israeli prime minister and Likud leader, who has been criticized for his handling of the Gaza war but hopes to be re-elected on October 27. Elections to the Knesset will be held then, the first after Hamas's October attack and the subsequent wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
Even position
Critics and observers have long accused Netanyahu of escalating conflicts and polarizing in order to portray himself as Israel's defender. Netanyahu and his right-wing government are under pressure from the opposition, and according to opinion polls, the election looks set to be very close.
In the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, over 1,100 people were killed in Israel, the majority of them unarmed civilians. In addition, nearly 250 people, including children, were taken hostage.
