The Atlantic: Egypt's Intelligence Chief Abbas Kamel Flew to Israel 11 Days Before Oct. 7 to Warn of Hamas Attack Preparations

The Atlantic reported Saturday, September 26, 2026 that Egyptian General Intelligence Service chief Abbas Kamel flew to Ben Gurion Airport on September 26, 2023 — 11 days before the Hamas-led attack — for a roughly 67-minute meeting with Israeli officials, warning that Hamas appeared to be preparing a major assault and urging Israel to grant Hamas economic concessions to defuse tensions in Gaza, reportedly telling officials 'Gaza is going to blow up in your faces' if Israel did not change course. Kamel did not provide a specific date or operational details of the attack Hamas subsequently carried out, and it remains unclear exactly which Israeli officials met with him, though reporting points to then-national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi as a likely contact. Hanegbi denied to The Atlantic that Kamel visited Israel on September 26, 2023 or that Egypt delivered any warning, and Netanyahu's office called the report 'false,' saying it 'was denied at the time and is being recycled to manipulate the Israeli public,' adding that Netanyahu himself neither met nor spoke with Kamel before October 7. The report adds a third alleged foreign-government warning — after Sinwar's 'earthquake' message via a Palestinian mediator and the disputed UAE call to Netanyahu — to the catalogue of pre-October 7 intelligence that officials say went unheeded.