Egypt Warned Israel Three Times Before the 2023 Hamas Attack, Report Says

Egypt warned Israel three times before the October 7, 2023 assault, the Wall Street Journal reports. Benjamin Netanyahu also heard similar concerns from the UAE, but they did not convince him.

Egypt Warned Israel Before the October 7 Attack

Egypt warned Israel three times about a planned Hamas attack, the Wall Street Journal reports. The paper cites Egyptian officials. The assault took place on October 7, 2023.

Third Warning Came Through a Phone Call

The report describes how Cairo tried to get Israel’s attention in early October 2023. Its account centers on one call from Egypt’s intelligence chief to the Israeli prime minister.

“It was early October 2023, and Israel ignored two warnings from Egypt about signs of an attack being prepared in Gaza. Kamel (Abbas Kamel, who then headed Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, editor’s note) phoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deliver the third warning,” the article states, citing officials in the Egyptian government.

Netanyahu Also Heard From the UAE

Beyond the fact that Egypt warned Israel, the paper notes that Kamel’s call was only one of many alerts. Netanyahu and other Israeli officials received several signals before the attack. Some of the paper’s sources, officials among them, say the Israeli leader also got similar information from the United Arab Emirates. It did not convince him.

Haaretz Investigation Adds Pressure

In early September, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an investigation. It claims the UAE president warned the Israeli prime minister about Hamas’s hostile plans. The warning reportedly came about a week and a half before October 7, 2023.

The investigation says Netanyahu did not pass the warning to Herzi Halevi, then chief of the army general staff. He also kept the heads of the intelligence services in the dark. Netanyahu later told his lawyers to file a defamation lawsuit against the paper over the story.

Book Release and Public Reaction

The Haaretz story was timed for the coming release of a book by Israeli journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval. It is titled “Hostages: 843 Days of Inaction”. The authors say their findings rest on testimony from dozens of sources in Israel and abroad.

The investigation caused a wide public outcry inside Israel. Opposition leaders again accused the government of negligence. They called for a state commission of inquiry into the tragic events of October 7, 2023.