Netanyahu faces fresh allegations he ignored warnings about Oct. 7 - right before an election
New allegations suggest that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received warnings from the UAE and Egypt regarding a potential Hamas attack prior to October 7. Netanyahu has dismissed these claims as politically motivated hoaxes ahead of the upcoming election.
Why it matters
These allegations carry significant political weight regarding government accountability and national security failures in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
In a new book excerpted in Israel's Haaretz newspaper, journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval contend that the United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed telephoned Netanyahu 10 days prior to the attack to warn of a potential significant move by the militant group against Israel.
"The [worst thing] was that Netanyahu heard his warning and didn't deliver it to the security echelon," Eldar told CBC News at his home near Tel Aviv.
"Not the chief of staff, not the head of the Shin Bet, not the head of the Mossad," he said, referring to the country's internal security and spy agencies, respectively. "And also not the defence minister."
The Oct. 7 attacks would prove to be the deadliest in Israel's history. Some 1,200 people were killed, including more than 800 civilians, with 251 people taken back into Gaza as hostages.
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