⚖️ October 7: Reported foreign warnings and competing accounts: The New York Times said it had confirmed an earlier Haaretz report that Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed warned Netanyahu before October 7 that Hamas was preparing a major attack. Five former senior Israeli officials cited in the report said the warning never reached Israel’s security leadership. According to the Times, minutes from an October 1, 2023, security meeting show Netanyahu did not mention it and instead advocated maintaining calm in Gaza. Netanyahu denied receiving the warning, saying intelligence from the UAE would have passed through official channels.
The Atlantic separately reported that then-Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel urgently visited Israel on September 26, 2023, warning officials that Hamas appeared to be preparing a major attack. He urged economic concessions to Hamas to prevent escalation, warning that Gaza could “blow up in your faces.” Although he supplied no specific date or operational details, officials cited by the magazine said the urgency should have raised concerns. Egypt reportedly continued issuing warnings through October 5.
The Prime Minister’s Office rejected the Egyptian-warning allegation as false and an attempt to manipulate the public. It said Egypt had officially denied on October 11, 2023, warning Israel of the attack; Netanyahu had neither met nor spoken with Kamel in the preceding months; and no Israeli intelligence official had conveyed such a warning to him.
Likud accused politically mobilized left-wing journalists of spreading false reports to oust the right and install a “left-wing–Muslim Brotherhood government that will capitulate on every front.” It cited what it described as UAE denials and PMO proof that no such conversation occurred. Likud also attacked the New York Times as anti-Zionist, accusing it of publishing “blood libels” about dogs trained to rape Palestinians, portraying a child with a genetic disease as a starving Gaza child, and spreading Hamas’ genocide allegations.
Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of Yashar! with Eisenkot, said the accumulated warnings showed Netanyahu had led Israel into its greatest disaster through blindness, arrogance and irresponsibility, betrayed public trust and failed in his duty. He accused Netanyahu of evading responsibility, spreading betrayal conspiracy theories and manipulating public perceptions. Eisenkot said Netanyahu and cabinet members who had not accepted responsibility were unfit to lead recovery, and called for a replacement government to establish a state commission of inquiry, draw conclusions, prevent another disaster and rebuild Israel.
In a separate statement concerning Qatar, Eisenkot characterized Netanyahu’s actions as falling somewhere between breach of trust and treason.
🗳️ Opposition cooperation and coalition disagreements: Eisenkot, Bennett, Lieberman and Golan were reported to be meeting at Lapid’s home. The party leaders pledged in a document that neither they nor anyone acting on their behalf would attack another party in the bloc or its leader.
Commentator Amit Segal attributed the initiative to pressure from below, arguing that attacks on fellow bloc members would also damage the attacker’s standing. He questioned whether the agreement would hold, particularly its promise not to discuss the bloc’s candidate for prime minister when three participants want the position.
The restraint pledge did not resolve disagreement over a future coalition: speaking on “Meet the Press,” Eisenkot said Ra’am would not be part of the next government, while Segalovich argued that Eisenkot would have no government without it.
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