The Atlantic reported Egypt warned Israel before October 7 — Jerusalem Post

Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel secretly visited Israel on September 26, 2023, and warned that Hamas was preparing a large-scale attack, The Jerusalem Post reports, citing an investigation by The Atlantic magazine. The visit described in the investigation took place 11 days before Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

Brief visit to Israel

According to The Atlantic, a Cessna charter plane linked to Egyptian intelligence services arrived at Ben Gurion Airport on September 26. It landed in an isolated area of the airport which, according to the publication, is used for sensitive diplomatic and security missions. The plane remained in Israel for 67 minutes before returning to Cairo.

According to the investigation, Kamel was aboard the plane. At the time, he headed Egypt’s General Intelligence Service and was part of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s inner circle. Officials from Israel, Arab countries, the United States and Europe who were briefed on the visit after October 7 told The Atlantic that Kamel had warned of a possible major Hamas attack. He also urged Israel to take economic measures to reduce tensions in the Gaza Strip.

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No details of the attack plan

According to the investigation, Kamel did not name the date of a possible attack, its targets or a specific method of carrying it out. It is also unknown whom exactly he met during the visit. At the time, the warnings mainly concerned the risk of escalation, rocket attacks or a new outbreak of violence in Gaza, rather than the coordinated multi-pronged assault Hamas carried out on October 7.

After the attack, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied reports of a warning from Egypt. Former National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi also told The Atlantic this week that Kamel had not visited Israel and that there had been no Egyptian warning.

At the same time, Israeli, Egyptian and U.S. officials told the magazine that warnings from Egypt had been received up to two days before the attack. In particular, on October 5, Egypt conveyed a message to Israel about the impossibility of maintaining the current situation and the urgency of the risk of an attack, but without specifying a date or method for carrying it out.