According to a report published by the American magazine The Atlantic the day before yesterday, Friday, the head of Egypt’s intelligence service traveled to Israel several days before the 7 October 2023 attack to warn that the Palestinian Islamist terrorist organization Hamas was preparing to launch a major operation, according to a report published by the American magazine The Atlantic the day before yesterday, Friday. The report was rejected yesterday, Saturday, by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who accused it of attempting to “manipulate” public opinion in his country, one month before parliamentary elections in which he risks defeat.

A statement from Netanyahu’s office stressed that “the allegation is false”, that it had already been denied at the time, but was now “being recycled in order to manipulate Israeli public opinion”.

The parliamentary elections in Israel are scheduled to take place exactly one month from now, on 27 October.

According to the report, with less than two weeks remaining before the attack was launched, Abbas Kamel, the head of Egypt’s intelligence service, arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport in a chartered Cessna for a lightning visit lasting approximately one hour, in order to warn the Israeli authorities that the window for preventing a major Hamas attack was “closing”. The American magazine cites sources in Israel, Egypt, other Arab countries, the United States and Europe.

Kamel is said to have urged the Israeli government to make economic concessions to Hamas, a movement with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, in order to prevent an escalation.

Abbas Kamel is considered one of the most influential intelligence officers in the region and played an important role in mediation efforts after the war broke out.

Two days after the attack, Netanyahu’s office denied that Egypt had warned his government and that the Prime Minister had had any direct or indirect contact with Kamel.

The report follows a recent article in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, according to which the United Arab Emirates had also warned Prime Minister Netanyahu.

According to the report, the President of the Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed, had stressed to Netanyahu that the then Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning an attack. The Israeli Prime Minister’s office also denied the newspaper’s reports and threatened to take it to court.