Shargh says the New York Times 'confirms' a UAE warning to Netanyahu before 7 October; the Jerusalem Post says Netanyahu, the UAE and US officials deny it
Two sources told the New York Times that the UAE's president warned Netanyahu of a 'big attack' by Hamas shortly before 7 October 2023. Netanyahu's office calls the story an 'absolute lie'. The Jerusalem Post and Shargh disagree about whether the UAE also denied it.
The claim. Shargh relays a New York Times report that cites two sources. One of them spoke directly to Mohammed bin Zayed, the UAE's president. The report says he warned Netanyahu of a 'big attack' by Hamas shortly before 7 October 2023. Shargh says this 'confirms' an earlier Haaretz account of a 45-minute call.
The denial. Shargh quotes Netanyahu's office: he 'did not speak' to the UAE president in that period and 'received no warning'. The Jerusalem Post says Netanyahu, UAE officials and US officials all deny it.
The meeting. Both outlets carry the New York Times' reading of the minutes of a 1 October 2023 security meeting. Shargh says Netanyahu argued for calm in Gaza to protect normalisation with Saudi Arabia.
| Shargh | The Jerusalem Post | |
|---|---|---|
| The warning | 'confirmed' by the NYT | an allegation that is denied |
| Netanyahu | denies it; quoted in full | denies it |
| The UAE | denied neither the call nor the report | UAE officials deny it |
| US officials | not mentioned | deny it |
Not settled. Both sources for the warning are unnamed. The minutes come from one account, the New York Times'. We have not read the New York Times, Haaretz or The National ourselves; we hold only these two reports on them. Neither outlet quotes a US official by name.
What this is about. It is about whether Israel's prime minister was privately warned of the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, and whether he acted on the warning.
How it got here. On 7 October 2023, Hamas-led fighters crossed from Gaza into southern Israel. They killed people in Israeli towns and army posts and took hostages back to Gaza. Israel's war in Gaza followed. Since then, Israelis have argued over how the attack was missed and who carries responsibility for it. Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister before and since the attack, has been at the centre of that argument.
In 2020 the United Arab Emirates normalised relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords. That opened a direct channel between the two leaders. In 2023 the United States was pushing for Saudi Arabia to normalise relations with Israel as well. Earlier this month Haaretz reported that the UAE's president had used that channel to warn Netanyahu. The New York Times has now published a report that, according to Shargh, backs Haaretz's account.
The actors. - Mohammed bin Zayed has been president of the UAE since 2022. He signed up to the Abraham Accords. - Benjamin Netanyahu leads Israel's government. His office denies the call took place. - William Burns was director of the CIA at the time. According to Shargh, a source says the UAE leader told Burns about the call. - Yahya Sinwar was Hamas's leader in Gaza at the time.
What is at stake. If the warning was given and never passed on, it bears directly on what Netanyahu knew before the attack. If it was not given, two newspapers have printed a false story about the worst day in Israel's history.
Where it stands. Netanyahu's office denies the call. The UAE's public position, as carried by one Emirati outlet, is that leaders do not discuss such details. Our two reports read that statement differently.
The story so far
- Jerusalem Post says a UAE official "denies" warning Netanyahu; Haaretz says the same official "did not outright deny" it · 20 Sep 2026
Earlier stories The AI Times filed on this thread.
What is being argued about
- Whether Mohammed bin Zayed warned Netanyahu of a 'big attack' before 7 October 2023
- Whether the UAE's statement counts as a denial
- What Netanyahu told security chiefs on 1 October 2023 about Gaza and Saudi normalisation
- How much weight two unnamed sources can carry
Claims and verdicts
Shargh
Shargh
🇮🇷IR ·
newspaper · independent
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
🇮🇱IL ·
newspaper · independent
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
🇮🇱IL ·
newspaper · independent
Shargh
Shargh
🇮🇷IR ·
newspaper · independent
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
🇮🇱IL ·
newspaper · independent
Shargh
Shargh
🇮🇷IR ·
newspaper · independent
Who wrote it
Coverage, outlet by outlet
Shargh
Shargh
🇮🇷IR ·
newspaper · independent
The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
🇮🇱IL ·
newspaper · independent
Haaretz
Haaretz
🇮🇱IL ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
A previous framing corrected the twelve-country statement described as ambiguously worded ×1Asserted flat The report states as fact that barring Arab parties is a standing ritual. ×1Asserted flat The report says ethnicity explains the different outcomes, in its own voice. ×1Asserted in the report's own voice Parties are characterised by what they are said to promise, unattributed, and the headline calls the result frightening. ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Palestine TV · Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation
Palestine TV · Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation
🇵🇸PS ·
TV/radio · state-controlled
What we have measured
Asserted versus attributed recognition itself stated as fact ×1Attribution 'historic' attributed to the Palestinian ambassador ×1Dead counted, not named two dead are counted as 'citizens' and none are named; the wounded are not counted ×1Dead named Gives the dead man's full name and age. ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Ynet
Ynet
🇮🇱IL ·
digital · independent
What we have measured
A claim in the headline that the other reports very close to deciding the regime appears in one report only ×1Active voice The killers are the subject of the verbs 'beat' and 'burned'. ×1Active voice The killers are named as acting ×1Army's term, attributed the army names the target of its strikes, and no one on the other side is quoted ×1
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
North Press Agency
North Press Agency
🇸🇾SY ·
wire · independent
What we have measured
Attribution the damage list is carried in full, attributed to the side claiming it ×1Single official source Uses the Saudi Press Agency's account: 'bilateral relations', with no mention of reconstruction or money. ×1What is at stake presents the stakes as trade and energy security; no ship, crew or price is counted ×1Which line is led with led by the legal instrument, naming the Security Council resolution by number ×1
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Al-Monitor
Al-Monitor
🇺🇸US/ME ·
digital · independent
What we have measured
Actor from anonymous officials Puts the IRGC at the trigger in a sentence sourc ×1Actor named Names the Director-General as the one who requested the dismissal ×1Actor named names Trump as the one who began the war, with Israel ×1Actor named names Israel as the actor in its military actions against the Palestinians ×1
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Tehran Times
Tehran Times
🇮🇷IR ·
newspaper · state-controlled
What we have measured
Asserted vs attributed headline states the seizure flat; the body attributes it to the claimant ×1Attribution the toll is attributed to a body that is described but not named ×1Headline against body headline states the seizure flat; the body attributes it to the IRGC ×1How the objectors are framed opposition is described as protesters speaking for civilians ×1
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Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera English
🇶🇦QA ·
TV/radio · state-funded international
What we have measured
Accusation attributed Cuba's charge is attributed to its foreign minister, not stated as fact ×1Actor named The headline names Israel as the actor and gives a count of three that includes a child. ×1Agency No actor is named for the detentions. The raids, not the soldiers, 'left' the town in lockdown ×1Agency Names Israel as the actor in the headline, in active voice ×1
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LBCI (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International)
LBCI (Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International)
🇱🇧LB ·
TV/radio · independent
What we have measured
Active voice, actor named the Israeli army carried out the detonation ×1Actor framing Tehran calls the meeting. Iraq is the only other state named. ×1Actor left unnamed the strike in Iraqi waters has no one named as firing it — the source is "unknown" ×1Actor named names Israel as the one striking ×1
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The Times of Israel
The Times of Israel
🇮🇱IL ·
digital · independent
What we have measured
Actorless in own voice The killing is passive with no shooter in the se ×1Headline carries the purpose The livestock and the army's reason are in the h ×1Headline frame The headline carries the military's word for the ×1Military words carried whole Both the label for the dead and the phrase for t ×1
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A
Al-Sabaah
Ma'an News Agency
Ma'an News Agency
🇵🇸PS ·
digital · independent
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Al-Mada
Al-Mada
🇮🇶IQ ·
newspaper · independent
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
WAFA · Palestinian News & Information Agency
WAFA · Palestinian News & Information Agency
🇵🇸PS ·
state agency · state-controlled
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Al-Manar
Al-Manar
🇱🇧LB ·
TV/radio · independent
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Middle East Eye
Middle East Eye
🇬🇧UK ·
digital · independent
What we have measured
How hard the claim is stated Its own body says the investigators did not attribute the network to the Emirati state — the qualification its headline drops. ×1How hard the claim is stated The body withdraws in one line the attribution its own headline makes ×1How deeply it is sourced Cites its own past reporting as the evidence for the claim in its own headline, and calls the evidence widespread in its own voice ×1How deeply it is sourced Offers its own past reporting as the evidence supporting the claim in its headline, inside the same sentence that carries the denial. ×1
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Ammon News
Ammon News
🇯🇴JO ·
digital · independent
What we have measured
Outlet profile in The AI Times →