The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied claims that Egypt warned Israel about a planned attack by “Hamas“ on October 7th, 2023. The position was announced after a publication by the American magazine “The Atlantic“, according to which Egyptian officials had passed on information about a planned large-scale attack.
Netanyahu's office called the information false and said that it was being used “to manipulate the Israeli public“. This is the Israeli prime minister's latest denial of claims that he received advance warning of the attack.
What the „Atlantic“ claims
According to the publication, less than two weeks before the attack, the head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamel, traveled to Israel. During the visit, which lasted about an hour, he warned that „Hamas“ appeared to be „mobilizing for a large-scale attack“.
Kamel also said that the opportunity to prevent the catastrophe was running out, and recommended that Israel make economic concessions to „Hamas“ to avoid escalation. He is among the most influential intelligence officials in the Middle East and is involved in Egyptian and Qatari mediation efforts between Israel and Hamas.
„The Atlantic“ did not specify with whom Kamel met in Israel. A former Israeli government official quoted by the magazine said that it was impossible for Netanyahu to have been unaware of the Egyptian spy's visit or meetings with Israeli officials.
Previous denials and new claims
Two days after the October 7 attack, Netanyahu's office denied that Egypt had issued such a warning. It was also stated at the time that there had been no direct or indirect meeting between Netanyahu and Kamel.
The publication by „The Atlantic“ This was followed by an article in the Israeli newspaper “Haaretz“, according to which the President of the United Arab Emirates Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan had also warned Netanyahu that the then leader of “Hamas“ Yahya Sinwar was planning a large-scale offensive.
The Israeli Prime Minister's office rejected this claim as well and announced that it planned to sue “Haaretz“ for defamation. Thus, the content of the publications about possible advance warnings remains a subject of dispute between the Israeli government and the media that distributed them.
Sources: BTA, DPA, Atlantic