DOMINANT ANGLE
Rome is dissecting a chain of ignored alerts prior to October 7, between Cairo, Abu Dhabi, and the Israeli election campaign.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
According to the Wall Street Journal cited by ANSA, the head of Egyptian intelligence Abbas Kamel directly called Netanyahu's office in early October 2023 for a third warning, after two alerts had already been ignored.
- 02
Adnkronos reports that a September 2023 call with Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed also informed Netanyahu of possible Hamas attacks, without seeming to convince him.
- 03
La Repubblica indicates that the Shin Bet filed a complaint against Channel 12 for the leak that revealed Netanyahu's secret trip to the Emirates.
ANALYSIS
Rome, September 29, 2026. Analyzing the revelations that have been accumulating since Benyamin Netanyahu's secret trip to the United Arab Emirates, the Italian press first notes what Cairo knew before October 7, 2023. According to a Wall Street Journal article picked up by ANSA, Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel directly called Netanyahu's office in early October 2023 to convey a "further warning" of an imminent attack from Gaza, after two previous alerts had already been ignored. A source cites Egypt warning Israel "up to almost 48 hours before the attack". The Times of Israel, quoted by ANSA, adds that Cairo had already warned as early as June 2023, advising Israel to resume negotiations with Hamas on a prisoner exchange. Netanyahu had nonetheless denied ever speaking to Kamel in the months preceding the attack.
Adnkronos, citing the same Wall Street Journal article, places this third Egyptian warning in a broader series: during a September 2023 call with Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed, Netanyahu was also reportedly informed of possible Hamas attacks, without appearing convinced. The newspaper emphasizes that none of these signals specified the schedule or scope of the offensive. Adnkronos explicitly links these revelations to the campaign: they "put the spotlight back" on the Israeli leader's actions before the war, just a month before the legislative elections.
La Repubblica, for its part, details the political and judicial fallout from the Emirati trip itself: the Prime Minister's office has "repeatedly" denied receiving the alert, brandishing threats of prosecution, while the Shin Bet has filed a complaint against Channel 12 for the leak that revealed the trip. Libero Quotidiano reports in parallel the charge by the Icelandic Minister of Foreign Affairs at the UN, denouncing the "moral cowards" who violate international law — a separate thread, but published on the same day in the same Italian news flow about Netanyahu.
From these converging accounts, the Italian press draws the same conclusion: the chain of ignored alerts, Egyptian and now Emirati, raises more questions about the solidity of Israeli intelligence before October 7 than about the diplomacy of the trip.
SOURCES (4)
- AdnkronosMEDIUM
- Libero QuotidianoMEDIUM
