Former Fatah Official Reveals He Was 'Coal Eyes' — the Mediator Who Passed Sinwar's Pre-Oct. 7 Warning Toward Israel

Sofian Abu Zaida, a former senior Fatah official who had previously mediated contacts between Hamas and Israel, announced in a video posted Friday, September 18, 2026 that he is the figure Haaretz had referred to only as 'Coal Eyes' in earlier reporting on pre-October 7 warnings, and said he would soon disclose in full a message Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar asked him to convey to Israel before the attack. Abu Zaida said that in mid-September 2023 Sinwar told him: 'Tell the Israelis that if they do not move forward, I am preparing a huge surprise for them,' using the word 'zilzal' (earthquake) as a warning signal. Fearing direct contact with Israeli security services, Abu Zaida said he passed the message through a Palestinian adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who Haaretz has reported separately warned Prime Minister Netanyahu by phone roughly 10 days before October 7. Abu Zaida also said Israel and Hamas had been negotiating before October 7 over releasing four Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and easing Gaza's blockade. The disclosure names, for the first time, the mediator behind the 'earthquake' warning central to the contested UAE-warning report Netanyahu's office has called 'an absolute lie.'