Israeli opposition leaders on Tuesday called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unfit to serve after a report that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had warned him before the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. Haaretz newspaper, in a report excerpted from a forthcoming book by its reporters, said UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke to Netanyahu a week and a half before the attack and told him that Hamas was planning a major operation.
Netanyahu's office called the report by the left-leaning newspaper "an absolute lie" and denied he spoke to the Emirati leader at that time. Responding to the report, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the government does not comment on media reports or speculation regarding conversations between government leaders.
Gadi Eisenkot, a former military commander who has emerged as Netanyahu's top rival in the upcoming elections, accused the long-serving prime minister of evading responsibility for security lapses and resorting to "pathetic" excuses. "Netanyahu received dozens of warnings for October 7 and ignored them all. He is unfit," Eisenkot wrote on X.
Naftali Bennett, a former prime minister also running in elections, said Netanyahu "bears personal and direct responsibility" for the deaths on October 7, the deadliest attack in Israeli history. Haaretz reported that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had warned of a major operation, a message that was relayed through intermediaries to the Emirati leadership and subsequently to Netanyahu.