Netanyahu Admits Egypt Intel Chief Visited Israel Before Oct 7

Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted, for the first time, that he knew Egypt's intelligence chief was secretly in Israel days before Hamas launched its October 7, 2023 massacre — contradicting repeated denials his office issued over the past three years. The Israeli prime minister made the admission in a wide-ranging interview broadcast Tuesday evening on pro-government Channel 14, thirteen days before Israelis head to the polls on October 27.

Netanyahu did not concede that he was personally warned about the attack, and he flatly denied ever meeting Abbas Kamel, the former head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service. But he acknowledged knowing of the visit itself, a fact his office had previously called "fake news" and "a claim that was already debunked at the beginning of the war."

What Netanyahu Said on Channel 14 About the Egypt Intel Chief

Speaking on Channel 14's "The Patriots" program, Netanyahu confirmed that an Egyptian aircraft carrying Kamel had landed in Israel in the run-up to October 7, and said he knew about it at the time. According to Haaretz, which reported the interview at 1:04 a.m. on October 14, he said:

"I know who he didn't meet. He didn't meet with me because I was attending a memorial ceremony for fallen IDF soldiers, so it was a lie from the outset. He didn't meet with me, he didn't speak to me. Since when does an intelligence chief speak with a head of state?"

Netanyahu added: "Want to see the deep state? I'm the prime minister of Israel, and Egypt's intelligence minister was here. He spent 59 minutes on the ground. I want to know who he met with."

The Times of Israel, reporting the same interview at 11:33 p.m. Tuesday, carried the same core admission: Netanyahu "confirms reports that Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel secretly flew to Israel days before the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack," while quoting his insistence that "He didn't meet with me … because I was in a memorial ceremony for IDF soldiers at that time."

The two outlets differ slightly on the reported duration of Kamel's time on the ground — Haaretz says 59 minutes, the Times of Israel says "something like 50 minutes" — but both agree on the substance: the visit happened, Netanyahu knew, and he says he still does not know which Israeli official received the Egyptian spy chief.

Why the Admission Matters: The Denials It Reverses

The significance of Tuesday's remarks lies less in what Netanyahu admitted than in what his office had denied. When The Atlantic reported last month that Kamel had visited Israel on September 26, 2023 — eleven days before the massacre — the Prime Minister's Office rejected it as "a false and recycled claim intended to mislead the public."

Netanyahu had previously dismissed the entire Egyptian-warning narrative outright. "No early message came from Egypt and the prime minister did not speak or meet with the intelligence chief since the establishment of the government — not indirectly or directly," his office said, per the Times of Israel. Haaretz noted he had called the reports "a claim that was already debunked at the beginning of the war" and labeled them "fake news."

Tuesday's interview stops short of a full retraction. Netanyahu still maintains he was never personally warned and never met or spoke with Kamel. What has changed is the factual baseline: the visit itself — previously denied in effect — is now acknowledged by the prime minister himself. He has effectively shifted from "it didn't happen" to "it happened, but I wasn't part of it."

The September 2023 Warning Timeline

Reports of Egyptian warnings before October 7 have accumulated for years, and Tuesday's admission puts several back under the spotlight:

• June 2023: According to The Wall Street Journal's September 2026 reporting, Egypt first warned Israel that the situation in Gaza was volatile and urged it to resume negotiations with Hamas.
• September 26, 2023: The Atlantic reported last month that Kamel personally flew to Israel, landing at an isolated area of Ben-Gurion International Airport — the same airport whose airspace is pictured above — on a day Israel's leadership was marking 50 years since the Yom Kippur War. Citing Israeli, Egyptian, Arab, U.S. and European officials, the report said Kamel warned that Hamas was preparing a major attack, that the window to prevent disaster was closing, and that Israel should grant Hamas economic concessions to avert confrontation. One former Israeli official was quoted as saying Kamel warned that "Gaza is going to blow up in your faces."
• Early October 2023: The Journal further reported that Kamel called Netanyahu directly days before October 7 to warn of signs of an imminent attack, after two earlier warnings went unheeded.
• October 9, 2023: Two days after the massacre, the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Kamel had spoken with Netanyahu before the attack and warned of "something unusual, a terrifying operation" about to be launched by Hamas. An Egyptian intelligence official told the paper Kamel was "amazed by the indifference" his warning was met with, and quoted Netanyahu as telling Kamel: "In Gaza, we are in the picture, we are in control. Our problem is with the West Bank."
• Separately: Haaretz first reported, and The New York Times later confirmed, that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed warned Netanyahu about ten days before October 7 that Hamas was planning a major attack and urged him to take it seriously.

Netanyahu has consistently denied receiving any of these warnings and has blamed the security establishment for the failures surrounding October 7. He also denies blocking a viable Gaza deal that could have freed hostages earlier, calling the terms on offer an unacceptable capitulation.

Election Backdrop: Iran Attack Claim and Opposition Warnings

The Channel 14 interview covered more than the Egyptian visit. Netanyahu also claimed that Iran and its allies are planning to attack Israel before the October 27 election — and that they want him to lose. "They want to do it either directly or through one of their allies," he said, naming Hamas, Hezbollah and the Palestinian Authority among those hoping for his defeat.

Opposition leaders aren't buying the timing. Earlier Tuesday, opposition frontrunner Gadi Eisenkot, Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Liberman, and Democrats leader Yair Golan all warned that Netanyahu might escalate toward war for political purposes ahead of the vote. Golan said "the writing's on the wall, in letters of blood and fire." Defense Minister Israel Katz, a Netanyahu ally, also warned that Iran and its proxies may try to influence the election through attacks, saying the government would decide "according to security needs, without regard to any other consideration."

Netanyahu declined to comment on a Channel 12 report that he had spoken with U.S. President Donald Trump about resuming the war against Iran. "You have to be able to act against the United States," he said when pressed on wartime decision-making, adding that bringing down Iran's leadership remained the objective.

Why It Matters

For three years, the question of what Netanyahu knew before October 7 has been the most politically explosive fault line in Israeli politics — the dividing line between a prime minister who says the security establishment failed him and critics who say he failed the country. His office's categorical denials of any Egyptian contact set the terms of that debate.

By admitting he knew of Kamel's visit while continuing to deny any personal warning, Netanyahu has moved the argument onto harder terrain for himself: if the visit happened and he knew about it, the follow-up questions — who met Kamel, what was relayed, and why the response was what it was — become unavoidable. That is precisely why he is demanding to know who Kamel met: it redirects scrutiny toward an unnamed official rather than the prime minister's office.

With the October 27 election less than two weeks away, the admission hands the opposition fresh ammunition at the worst possible moment for Netanyahu. Eisenkot, Liberman and Golan had already framed Tuesday as a day of political maneuvering; the Kamel reversal gives them a fact pattern — admitted by Netanyahu himself — rather than a contested media report.

What Happens Next

Expect three things. First, renewed pressure for a formal accounting of the September 26, 2023 visit: who Kamel met, what warning was delivered, and how it was handled. Netanyahu's own call for an investigation gives the opposition leverage to demand it on their terms. Second, the opposition will fold the admission into its closing election argument that Netanyahu cannot be trusted on the failures of October 7. Third, the Iran-attack warning claim will be tested against events — and against the opposition's counter-charge that security alarms are being timed for the ballot box.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly did Netanyahu admit about the Egyptian intelligence chief?

He admitted he knew Abbas Kamel, Egypt's former intelligence chief, had secretly visited Israel days before Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack. He did not admit receiving any warning himself. He continues to deny meeting Kamel, speaking with him, or being told of the visit's contents, and says he doesn't know which Israeli official met the Egyptian.

Who is Abbas Kamel?

Abbas Kamel was the head of Egypt's General Intelligence Service and a close confidant of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Multiple reports say he personally flew to Israel on September 26, 2023 to warn that Hamas was preparing a major assault. Netanyahu had hosted Kamel in Jerusalem in 2021.

What did Netanyahu's office say before this admission?

His office had rejected the reports outright. After The Atlantic's September 2026 report, it called the story "a false and recycled claim intended to mislead the public." Earlier, Netanyahu called the Egyptian-warning reports "a claim that was already debunked at the beginning of the war" and "fake news," insisting no early message came from Egypt.

What warnings did Egypt reportedly give Israel before October 7?

The Wall Street Journal reported Egypt warned Israel as early as June 2023 that Gaza was volatile. The Atlantic reported Kamel's September 26 in-person visit warning of an imminent major attack. The Journal added that Kamel called Netanyahu directly days before October 7, and Yedioth Ahronoth reported Kamel warned of "something unusual, a terrifying operation."

Why is this coming out now, before Israel's election?

Israel votes on October 27, 2026 — thirteen days after the interview. Netanyahu used the friendly Channel 14 appearance to frame himself as the target of a "deep state" rather than answerable for October 7. The opposition argues the Iran-attack warning is designed to frighten voters, while the Kamel admission may simply reflect reporting that had become impossible to keep denying.

What did Netanyahu say about Iran in the same interview?

He claimed Iran and its allies plan to attack Israel before the election, directly or through proxies, because they want him to lose. Opposition leaders Eisenkot, Liberman and Golan warned he could be manufacturing a security crisis for electoral gain. He refused to comment on a report that he discussed resuming the war on Iran with President Trump.

What happens to the October 7 investigations now?

The admission increases pressure for a full accounting of the September 2023 visit. Netanyahu himself called for identifying who met Kamel, which the opposition will likely use to demand a transparent process rather than an internal one. The broader state inquiry into the October 7 failures remains the central unresolved issue of Israeli politics heading into the vote.

By GlobalDeskNews Staff | 14 October 2026