Israeli reserve colonel says there were long-standing warnings about Hamas
In Israel, intermediaries between the Israeli side and Hamas had warned for several years that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was considering a large-scale kidnapping operation. Reserve Colonel Doron Hadar, who until October 7 participated in negotiations over hostages held by Hamas, told Kan News this, The Jerusalem Post reports.
Statement by a negotiator
According to Hadar, the intermediaries believed that the absence of an agreement on the hostages could prompt Hamas to take a step that would significantly change the group’s position.
Hadar claims that such messages were conveyed, in particular, through various intermediaries. According to him, Sinwar may have considered a large-scale kidnapping as a way to gain additional leverage. At the same time, Hadar did not provide specific details about the content of the warnings or the possible operation.
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Haaretz report and Netanyahu’s denial
The statement came amid a Haaretz publication claiming that several days before the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a warning from United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan about preparations for a major operation against Israel.
Haaretz cited three senior foreign interlocutors familiar with the content of the conversation. According to the publication, Netanyahu dismissed the warning, although the UAE president urged him to take the threat seriously.
The office of Israel’s prime minister rejected these claims as completely fabricated. It also said that Netanyahu instructed lawyers to file a defamation lawsuit against Haaretz and journalist Shlomi Eldar, and that there had been no contacts between Netanyahu and the UAE from the beginning of September 2023 until the October 7 attack.
