Haaretz: UAE's Bin Zayed Warned Netanyahu of Sinwar 'Earthquake' 10 Days Before Oct. 7, PM Didn't Brief Security Chiefs

Haaretz reported Tuesday, September 8, 2026 — citing the forthcoming book 'Kidnapped: 843 Days of Abandonment' by journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruti Yuval — that UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu roughly 10 days before October 7, 2023 and, in an unusual 45-minute conversation, warned him that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning a major operation against Israel that could cause bloodshed, destabilize the region and potentially harm the Abraham Accords. The report said the warning echoed a message Sinwar had separately conveyed to the UAE and Israel via a Palestinian mediator in mid-September 2023 about an approaching 'earthquake.' According to Haaretz, Netanyahu reacted 'relatively calmly,' assured Bin Zayed that Israel was prepared for any scenario, and then briefed neither Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, nor the heads of Shin Bet and Mossad on the call's contents. The Prime Minister's Office called the report 'an absolute lie,' saying Netanyahu 'did not speak with the president of the United Arab Emirates during the period in question and did not receive any warning from him.' The UAE declined to confirm or deny the specific call, saying only that 'relevant intelligence has been and continues to be shared with Israeli authorities' and that it 'does not comment on leaders' conversations.' Opposition leaders Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Liberman and Yair Golan responded by demanding a state commission of inquiry, saying: 'As soon as a government under our leadership is established, we will establish a state-led commission of inquiry that will investigate the failures that led to the October 7 massacre, arrive at the truth, and ensure that this disaster will not happen again,' and pressing Netanyahu on 'what did you know, when did he know, why didn't he update the security establishment.'