DOMINANT ANGLE
Lisbon retains particularly the count of alerts ignored before October 7: three distinct warnings, from the Emirates and then Egypt, which were left without follow-up, an accumulation that the Portuguese press directly associates with the Israeli legislative election campaign of October 27.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
According to Observador (citing Haaretz), Mohammed bin Zayed allegedly warned Netanyahu, in a call ten days before the attack, of a large-scale operation being prepared by Hamas; Netanyahu allegedly reacted with "relative calm" without informing the military chief.
- 02
The Wall Street Journal, as cited by Observador and SAPO, reports that Abbas Kamel, head of Egyptian intelligence, transmitted a third warning to Netanyahu in early October 2023, after two previous calls from Cairo that were already ignored.
- 03
The October 7, 2023 attack killed approximately 1,195 to 1,200 people and took 250 to 251 hostages, according to Portuguese articles; Israeli legislative elections are scheduled for October 27, with Netanyahu seeking a seventh term against Gadi Eisenkot.
ANALYSIS
Lisbon, September 29, 2026. The Portuguese press is revisiting the secret visit made by Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, September 27, 2026, to the United Arab Emirates, where he met with President Mohammed bin Zayed for about an hour, according to Channel 12 and sources cited by the AP and CNN. The trip, confirmed by the Israeli Prime Minister himself, comes as an investigation by the daily Haaretz, published on September 8, rekindles the debate over what Netanyahu knew before the October 7, 2023, attack.
According to Observador, a representative of the Emirati embassy in Israel allegedly handed Netanyahu a secure phone at the end of September 2023: on the other end of the line, Mohammed bin Zayed allegedly warned him of an imminent and large-scale Hamas attack. The Israeli leader allegedly reacted with "relative calm" and did not inform any military officials of this alert. Ten days later, Hamas attacked the Nova festival and several kibbutzim, killing 1,195 people and taking 251 hostage.
Netanyahu's office describes the Haaretz investigation as an "absolute lie". But two other revelations have been added: the Wall Street Journal reports that Abbas Kamel, the head of Egypt's secret services, transmitted a third warning in early October 2023, after two previous calls from Cairo that were already ignored. These alerts, according to sources cited by the American daily, did not specify the exact date or scope of the planned attack. The Prime Minister's office had previously denied any contact between Netanyahu and Kamel.
For the Portuguese media, this accumulation of ignored warnings - from the Emirates and then from Egypt, on three occasions - weighs on the legislative campaign of October 27, where Netanyahu is running for an unprecedented seventh term against Gadi Eisenkot, a former general who lost his son in the Gaza offensive. The polls describe a tight race. Observador notes that these revelations, arriving in this political context, transform the issue of missed intelligence into a central electoral issue, three years after the deadliest attack ever suffered on Israeli soil.
