If you had any doubt that Netanyahu had been warned firmly and repeatedly about October 7, most specifically from MBZ, and refused to give the warning to Israeli security organizations, the NYT has now confirmed it with new facts:
1) Two sources on the call itself, one who spoke with MBZ directly. "A person who said they had spoken with Sheikh Mohammed and another person who said they had been briefed by someone on the call between the two leaders told The New York Times that the Emirati leader had secretly reported to Mr. Netanyahu that Hamas was considering a major attack."
2) MBZ told the CIA director about the call. "Sheikh Mohammed mentioned his September 2023 phone call with Mr. Netanyahu months later in a discussion with William Burns, the C.I.A. director at the time," telling Burns "he had spoken to Mr. Netanyahu about a looming threat of violence in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip carried out by Hamas."
3) Minutes of the Oct. 1, 2023 security meeting show he never raised it. Netanyahu "gathered his security chiefs days later, on Oct. 1, 2023... and never mentioned the warning, according to minutes of the meeting reviewed by The Times." Instead "he pushed back when some security officials said that Israel should consider military strikes against senior Hamas leaders in Gaza," arguing "any Israeli action in Gaza might sabotage the prospect of Saudi Arabia establishing diplomatic relations with Israel."
4) There is evidence of an intentional coverup. The call is missing from every internal probe. It is "not mentioned in any of the internal investigations conducted by the military, intelligence agencies or other entities," according to "five former senior Israeli officials" who "were involved in the assessments."
The evidence is clear. Netanyahu was warned of an attack days before it occurred. He understood the severity of the warning and yet decided to hide it from his security officials. After the attack, he made efforts to cover up this warning. All this raises questions: why did Netanyahu ignore the warnings?