📰 4 sources 10 articles · 27 Sep 2026, 22:12 → 19 days ago

Netanyahu's secret visit to Abu Dhabi and his meeting with bin Zayed amid controversy over pre-October 7 warnings

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a secret visit to Abu Dhabi, where he met UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to Israeli media reports, a month before the Israeli elections and two days after returning from New York. The visit coincided with Wall Street Journal reports about repeated Egyptian warnings before the October 7, 2023 attack, and information reported by the Associated Press that Netanyahu asked bin Zayed to publicly deny an alleged Emirati warning.

📍 Where things stand: No official statement has been issued by Netanyahu's office about the content of the meeting, no public Emirati denial has been issued regarding reports of a pre-October 7 warning, Netanyahu continues to deny receiving any warning, and Avigdor Lieberman is escalating his accusations against him in this file.

⏱️ Timeline

27 Sep 2026, 22:12 Israel's Channel 12 reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled this morning on a private plane to the UAE on a secret visit and returned to Israel a short while ago, two days after returning from New York, a visit coming a month before the Israeli elections. According to a report by journalists Yaron Abraham and Barak Ravid, Netanyahu met in Abu Dhabi UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a meeting most of which was held in private, and Netanyahu's office refused to disclose any details about its content. The visit comes amid an investigation published two weeks ago alleging that Mohammed bin Zayed warned Netanyahu before the October 7 attack, which Netanyahu denied, and a previous secret visit in May during the war with Iran sparked controversy after the UAE denied it. Axios, via LBCI, reported that Netanyahu visited Abu Dhabi today, without further details on the visit's programme, its objectives or whom he met.
28 Sep 2026, 08:27 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent four hours in Abu Dhabi and met UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, in a visit whose invitation leaked during the return flight. This coincided with a Wall Street Journal report stating that Egypt warned Israel at least three times in the months before the October 7 attack, and that then-Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel called Netanyahu days before the attack. A new report by the newspaper, carried by Israel's Channel 12, brought the file back to the fore, stating that Kamel called Netanyahu in early October 2023 warning of a possible attack from Gaza, after two earlier Egyptian warnings in June and September that did not receive an adequate response, without specifying the timing or scale of the attack. Netanyahu's office denied this account.
28 Sep 2026, 15:15 The Associated Press reported that the secret visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Abu Dhabi included a request to UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed to publicly deny reports of an Emirati warning to him about a possible Hamas attack before October 7, 2023. This comes amid a series of reports and investigations into alleged Emirati and Egyptian warnings, with Netanyahu continuing to deny receiving any warning, and no public Emirati denial issued so far.
28 Sep 2026, 19:06 A BBC report examined Netanyahu's brief secret visit to Abu Dhabi and his meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, with no official statement explaining what happened, and addressed the background and objectives of the visit, most notably the controversy over an alleged Emirati warning call before the October 7, 2023 attack and Netanyahu's request that bin Zayed deny that account, alongside the approaching Israeli elections, the Iran file and efforts to repair relations between the two men.
28 Sep 2026, 19:26 The Hebrew website Walla quoted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as saying that in the months before October 7 he did not meet or speak with Abbas Kamel, who was then head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service, and that no Israeli intelligence official conveyed an Egyptian warning to the prime minister.
28 Sep 2026, 20:18 LBCI reported that Benjamin Netanyahu is in the United Arab Emirates as part of his effort to salvage his electoral standing.
29 Sep 2026, 16:35 Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman reignited the controversy over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's secret visit to Abu Dhabi, saying that Netanyahu asked Mohammed bin Zayed to deny reports of an Emirati warning before the October 7 attack, and that bin Zayed refused. Lieberman repeated his accusation that Netanyahu knew of the attack scenario, citing an 11-page document and warning documents, and also revealed his party's demands in the next government.

Timeline written by AI from the sources below; updated as new reports arrive.

⚠️ Sources disagree

Whether Abbas Kamel called Netanyahu before October 7, 2023

Then-Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel called Netanyahu days before the attack, and called him in early October 2023 warning of a possible attack from Gaza after two warnings in June and September according to Lebanon Debate
Netanyahu said that in the months before October 7 he did not meet or speak with Abbas Kamel, and that no Israeli intelligence official conveyed an Egyptian warning to him according to المترجم احمد المقادمة

Figures as each outlet reported them at the time. We do not judge which is correct; numbers often change as events develop.

How the sources covered it

Coverage ranged from a focus on the circumstances and the political and electoral motives of the visit (BBC and LBCI), to following the file of alleged pre-October 7 warnings and what took place between Netanyahu and bin Zayed on the matter (Lebanon Debate), while other coverage led with the initial Channel 12 report and then Netanyahu's denial as quoted from Walla (المترجم احمد المقادمة).

المترجم احمد المقادمة In its first item it led with Channel 12's report on the secret visit, the timing of the departure and return, and the background of the investigation into an alleged pre-October 7 warning and the earlier secret visit in May; in its second item it led with Netanyahu's denial, quoted from Walla, of meeting or speaking with Abbas Kamel.
Lebanon Debate It focused on the details and content of the meeting (four hours, much of it in private) and on the warnings file, carrying the Wall Street Journal report on the Egyptian warnings and Abbas Kamel's call, the Associated Press report on Netanyahu's request that bin Zayed deny the account of an Emirati warning, and then Lieberman's remarks.
LBCI It limited itself to a brief relay of the Abu Dhabi visit report from Axios, then to a single sentence attributing the visit to Netanyahu's effort to salvage his electoral standing, without details on the visit's programme or the content of the meeting.
BBC It focused on the motives and objectives of the visit and the absence of any official statement, on the approaching Israeli elections, the Iran file and efforts to repair relations between Netanyahu and bin Zayed, alongside the controversy over the alleged Emirati warning call.