Egypt delivered at least three distinct warnings to Israel prior to the October 7 attacks, including a clandestine meeting in Israel just two weeks beforehand and a direct phone call to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu days before the assault, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday, citing Arab government officials.
According to the WSJ, Egypt’s intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel, repeatedly alerted Netanyahu to mounting indicators of an imminent offensive from Gaza, but the warnings went unheeded.
A separate Atlantic report published Saturday disclosed that Kamel secretly traveled to Israel 11 days before October 7 to brief the prime minister personally. The new WSJ reporting reveals that Kamel followed up that meeting with an additional warning via telephone in the days immediately preceding the massacre.
Netanyahu has previously denied having advance personal knowledge of the attack, asserting that his security chiefs failed to provide adequate warning.
The call from Kamel was not the only alert Netanyahu received in the run-up to October 7, sources told the WSJ; the prime minister and other Israeli officials were the recipients of multiple advance warnings.
These revelations arrive less than a month before Israel’s first elections since October 7, 2023, refocusing scrutiny on the government’s handling of the intelligence preceding the attack.
Details of Kamel’s In-Person Warning
Israeli, Arab, American, and European officials briefed on the visit after October 7 said Kamel cautioned that Hamas appeared to be preparing a major assault and urged Israel to pursue economic measures to ease tensions in the Gaza Strip, the report noted.
A former Israeli official briefed on the meeting characterized the Egyptian message bluntly: “If you don’t change course, Gaza is going to explode in your face.”
The investigation noted that Kamel did not specify a date for a potential attack, identify targets, or provide concrete operational details regarding the threat. It remains unclear precisely which Israeli officials he met during his hour-long visit.
At the time, most intelligence warnings centered on the risk of escalation, rocket fire, or renewed localized violence in Gaza, rather than the coordinated, multi-front invasion Hamas ultimately executed on October 7.
Additional Warnings from Other Arab Nations
The United Arab Emirates also attempted to alert the Israeli prime minister to the impending attack, Arab officials told the WSJ.
Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed warned Netanyahu of indications pointing to a coming Hamas offensive during a phone call in September 2023, though sources indicated the Israeli prime minister appeared unconvinced.
Those warnings likewise lacked specific timing or details on the scale of the potential operation.
Netanyahu has consistently denied receiving actionable warnings from either the Egyptian intelligence chief or the Emirati leader in the months leading up to October 7.
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