Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed lawyers to launch defamation proceedings against Haaretz over a report claiming the UAE president warned him days before the 7 October 2023 attacks that Hamas was planning a major operation. Netanyahu's office has denied any such warning was given, branding the report a "sinister plot", while Haaretz has stood by its journalism and rejected the legal threat as an attempt to silence criticism. The row is significant because it comes just weeks before Israel's 27 October general election, widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu's leadership, and feeds long-standing accusations that he failed to act on intelligence before the attack.

The Haaretz report, drawn from a forthcoming book, cited sources describing a secure phone call in late September 2023 in which Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan allegedly told Netanyahu that Hamas's Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar was preparing an "earthquake" operation; Netanyahu reportedly responded calmly, believing any action would target the West Bank, and did not brief Israel's Shin Bet, Mossad or military chief of staff. The 7 October attacks killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, triggering an Israeli military campaign in Gaza that has since killed at least 73,670 people, according to Hamas-run health ministry figures regarded as reliable by the UN. The story broke the same day the UK announced sanctions on illegal West Bank settlements, prompting Israeli retaliatory measures including closing the British consulate in East Jerusalem, though the Haaretz report dominated domestic coverage.