The newspaper Israel Hayom published a piece about the Egyptian warning to Israel just before the terrorist massacre on October 7. The piece is based on data from a large number of high-ranking sources.
The newspaper also refers to information from an important Egyptian source, a meeting with whom was allegedly organized in Israel. According to this source, two weeks before October 7, an Egyptian delegation arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to meet with their colleagues from the diplomatic corps and warned that "the situation in Gaza is explosive." "We said that everything could explode," said a senior Egyptian source and explained: "We told our interlocutors on the Israeli side that the situation in Gaza and the West Bank is very volatile and could lead to escalation."
The same senior Egyptian source added: "In Israel, we were told that everything is fine, that a settlement will soon be reached." Israeli sources in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could not specify the exact date of the meeting but confirmed to the newspaper that messages from Egypt had been received at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before October 7, indicating that the situation with the Palestinians is very sensitive and could explode at any moment.
Other Israeli sources confirm that the Egyptians were "not calm at all" and tried to warn about this again and again, "based on a deep understanding of the situation in Gaza."
On September 26, 2023, while the state leadership gathered for a ceremonial event marking the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, a plane linked to Egyptian intelligence landed in a restricted area of Ben Gurion Airport, stayed on the runway for a very short time, and flew back to Cairo.
Sources familiar with special operations protocols estimate that during this brief time, an emergency meeting took place on board the plane. At the same hours, the head of the Shin Bet, Tzachi Hanegbi - a person who should be in constant contact with the head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamel - was absent from the ceremony. The Security Council declined to comment.
Kamel maintained regular contact with Israeli officials, including ministers, and fostered the development of these ties with Israel. Two Israeli political sources confirmed that Egypt conveyed a specific warning to the Shin Bet. The warning was about "something significant" happening and approaching.
Sources involved in the details assert that it is impossible for such sensitive information coming from Egypt, especially a warning about "something significant," not to have been conveyed to the Prime Minister and the government.
