Egyptian intelligence chief visited Israel days before Oct. 7 Hamas attack, warning of Gaza escalation
Abbas Kamel, head of Egypt’s intelligence, made a brief trip to Israel on Sept. 26, 2023, delivering a warning that Gaza was on the brink of a major escalation and urging economic concessions, a claim Israel’s government has denied.
Egypt’s intelligence chief Abbas Kamel flew to Israel on Sept. 26, 2023, arriving in a chartered Cessna at Ben Gurion Airport for a one-hour meeting that officials described as unusually sensitive. According to multiple sources, Kamel warned that Hamas was preparing a large-scale operation in Gaza and urged Israel to make economic concessions to the group to avert further fighting. A former Israeli official who briefed on the visit summarized the message as a warning that “if you don’t change course, Gaza is going to blow up in your faces.”
The flight took place on the same day Israeli leaders marked the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, and the aircraft remained at the airport for about 67 minutes before returning to Cairo. The exact Israeli officials who met Kamel have not been disclosed. While officials from seven countries said the visit should have raised alarm, Netanyahu’s office later denied that the prime minister received any direct warning from Egypt. National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi also rejected claims that Kamel had visited or that Egypt issued a warning.
The Kamel visit adds to a series of pre-Oct. 7 alerts from regional actors, including a United Nations envoy’s public warning and a call from UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed to Netanyahu based on Egyptian and Palestinian intelligence. U.S. and Israeli analysts say the warnings lacked specific details such as a date, target or operational plan, and Israel’s focus at the time was on domestic political turmoil and security concerns in the West Bank.
Eleven days after Kamel’s trip, Hamas launched coordinated attacks that killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, prompting a prolonged Israeli military campaign in Gaza. The handling of the pre-attack warnings has become a point of contention in Israel’s political debate ahead of upcoming elections, with calls for an independent inquiry into intelligence and security failures.