The Biden administration was not aware of any specific warning from the United Arab Emirates before the October 7 massacre that Hamas was planning a major terror attack, two sources familiar with the details told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
Even in the period after the massacre, Biden administration officials did not hear that the UAE had issued a specific warning, the sources said.
The fact that the Biden administration was not aware that a warning was issued does not mean the UAE did not convey a message to Israeli leadership. However, it is reasonable to assume that if a significant warning had been issued, the Biden administration would have learned of it from the Emiratis, either before the massacre or, certainly, afterward.
Comments come in reaction to Haaretz report that MBZ warned Netanyahu of upcoming terror attack possibility
The comments follow a report initially published by Haaretz on Tuesday, stating that UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ) had spoken with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over a week before the massacre for approximately 45 minutes.
During the conversation, MBZ reportedly said that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning a “major move” against Israel. He is said to have expressed concern that the incident could lead to bloodshed, destabilize the region, and even undermine the Abraham Accords.
The report also claimed that then-CIA director William Burns heard from MBZ that the latter had tried to convey to Netanyahu that “something is about to explode” in the region.
However, a source familiar with the details told the Post that MBZ spoke with Burns after October 7, and told him that, in a discussion he had with Netanyahu before October 7, he had conveyed a “general warning about the volatile situation on the ground” — meaning that it was not a specific warning about an impending war or anything of that nature.
Biden admin. denies report that UAE warned US about October 7
Despite these claims, Biden administration officials were not aware of any such specific warning.
In one instance, former secretary of state Antony Blinken outright denied a quote that was attributed to him in the Haaretz article.
“For the record, this is false. Complete fiction,” he wrote in a post on X/Twitter with a screenshot of his quote.
Haaretz reported that Blinken spoke with Qatari Emir al-Thani, who informed him that he had offered to negotiate a quick deal.
“There are hundreds of hostages in Gaza, and among them, in my estimation, dozens of civilians. They need to be released now,” al-Thani told Blinken, as quoted by Haaretz.
“I offered the Israelis to mediate a quick deal for their release, but they are not interested.”
The report claims that Blinken responded: “Let’s wait,” and added, “I will speak with Netanyahu personally.”
The former secretary of state also reportedly told the Qatari emir he would travel to Israel within three days of the conversation.
“Right now, the situation is complex,” Blinken said, as quoted by Haaretz. “Israel is still under attack, and there’s no one to talk to. We will wait three days.”
Notably, the UAE did warn senior US and Israeli officials that Israeli actions and rhetoric were “putting regional stability at risk” in the period leading up to the massacre.
Senior UAE advisor warned Israel against political decisions contradicting Abraham Accords in 2023
In March 2023, UAE businessman Khaldoon al-Mubarak, a senior advisor to MBZ, traveled to Israel and conveyed a message to senior Israeli officials: “The direction in which the government is heading is in complete contradiction to the Abraham Accords, and … some politicians are even encouraging violence.”
“This runs contrary to the spirit of the agreements and the current conduct and puts regional stability at risk,” Mubarak said at the time.
The UAE’s Foreign Ministry stated on Tuesday that “the UAE’s engagement since October 7 has consistently been aimed at de-escalation, regional stability, and preventing violence,” adding: “Officials in the UAE and Israel have maintained open and direct lines of communication since the beginning of relations more than five years ago. Whenever necessary, all relevant intelligence has been and continues to be shared between the relevant parties.”