Accusations continued to rain down during the election campaign on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his handling of the prevention of possible attacks by Hamas, culminating in the massacre of October 7.
The Wall Street Journal, widely reported by the Tel Aviv press, reports that Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel phoned Netanyahu a few days before the offensive to convey a further warning and report signs of an imminent attack from Gaza, after two previous Egyptian warnings had been ignored.
The final warning came in early October, when Kamel called Netanyahu's office directly.
A source said Egypt continued to issue warnings until nearly 48 hours before the attack.
The report, The Times of Israel writes, states that the Egyptians had warned Israel as early as June 2023 about the situation in Gaza, advising the Jewish state to resume negotiations with the Palestinian group for a hostage exchange agreement.
This is the latest in a series of Israeli and international reports regarding signals that escaped the attention of the prime minister and security officials before the full-scale invasion. In September, the Israeli newspaper recalls, Kamel traveled to Israel warning that "the situation in Gaza was critical and threatened to explode in everyone's face," the article reports, citing anonymous officials from an unspecified Arab government.
However, Israeli officials downplayed the warnings, assuring Kamel that the situation was under control, prompting the October call to Netanyahu's office, the report adds, noting that "the Egyptians continued to warn Israel up to 48 hours before the attack."
Netanyahu had previously denied ever speaking with Kamel in the months leading up to the attack. The report also reiterates recent reports that Emirati leader Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan called Netanyahu in September 2023 to warn him of signs of an impending Hamas attack. None of the warnings contained specific details about the timing or scope of the planned assault, the report notes, consistent with previous reports on the matter.
(Unioneonline)
