The president of the United Arab Emirates warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Hamas was planning a major offensive against his country less than two weeks before the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks, an Israeli newspaper reported. 

UAE President Mohammad bin Zayed spoke with Netanyahu ten days before the attack, warning him that Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza at the time, was planning the operation, the Associated Press reported, citing Haaretz. 

The UAE president said the attack would lead to bloodshed, potentially destabilize the region and undermine the Abraham Accords, the normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab and Muslim-majority nations. 

According to Haaretz, Netanyahu assured bin Zayed that Israel was prepared to defend itself, and such an attack was more likely to come from the occupied West Bank. 

Netanyahu's office called the report an "absolute lie" and said no such conversation between Netanyahu and bin Zayed took place.