Netanyahu's unannounced visit to the UAE reportedly involved discussions with President Mohamed bin Zayed. 

Updated on: Sep 28, 2026, 11:37:04 IST

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Israeli media reported on Sunday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made an unannounced one-day visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he met with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Israeli television channels 12 and KAN, along with the newspapers Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post, reported the visit, according to an AFP news agency report. Netanyahu’s office had not immediately issued a comment.

The reported trip comes as West Asia remains embroiled in the Israel-US war with Iran, which began in February.

UAE warned Israel of Hamas attack?

The visit follows a recent report in the Israeli media alleging that UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed had warned Netanyahu about the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. According to the report, the warning was not passed on to Israeli security officials.

As per the report by Haaretz, Mohamed bin Zayed spoke with Netanyahu about a week and a half before the attack and had warned him that Hamas was preparing a major operation.

About ten days before the attack, Netanyahu was reportedly warned during a 45-minute conversation that then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning a major operation against Israel.

Netanyahu denied the report

Netanyahu’s office dismissed the newspaper’s report as “an absolute lie,” stating that the prime minister had not spoken with the Emirati president during the period in question and had received no warning from him.

Former military commander Gadi Eisenkot, who has emerged as a leading rival to Netanyahu ahead of the October 27 elections, accused the prime minister of attempting to evade responsibility for the security failures.

“Netanyahu received dozens of warnings about October 7 and ignored them all,” Eisenkot wrote on X, adding that he was “unfit.”

Israel-UAE ties: The Abraham Accords

Israel and the UAE officially established diplomatic relations in 2020 under Abraham Accords negotiated by the US.

The Abraham Accords were initially brokered by Donald Trump during his first term as US president. According to Reuters, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed the agreements in 2020, becoming the first Arab countries in 25 years to formally establish diplomatic relations with Israel and breaking a long-standing regional taboo.

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