CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has acknowledged that Egypt’s then intelligence chief Abbas Kamel visited Israel before the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. According to Netanyahu, Kamel remained in Israel for about 59 minutes, but did not meet him during that time. The statement comes amid questions over whether Israel had received warnings of a possible threat before the Hamas attack.
Netanyahu made the claim in a television interview with Israel’s Channel 14, saying Abbas Kamel had come to Israel but did not meet him. He said he was attending a memorial ceremony for Israeli soldiers at the time. Netanyahu said he did not know whom the Egyptian intelligence chief met in Israel.
He rejected allegations that Israeli leadership had ignored a warning from Egypt before the Hamas attack. Netanyahu described this as part of the accusations being levelled against him.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas carried out a major attack on Israel. Around 1,200 people were killed in the attack and about 250 people were taken hostage to Gaza. Israel then launched a military operation in Gaza, leading to large-scale casualties and a humanitarian crisis in the region.
Foreign media reports had earlier said Egyptian officials had alerted Israel before the attack about rising tensions in Gaza. However, it is not clear how specific the warning was, whether it contained information about the timing or method of the attack, or at what level of Israeli officials the information was received.
Netanyahu’s statement on Abbas Kamel’s visit has brought the debate over intelligence failure and accountability in Israel back into focus. The key question is how the information available before the attack was assessed and whether security agencies took the possible threat seriously enough.
Netanyahu has denied a personal meeting with Kamel, but that does not by itself end the question of whether any warning from Egypt reached other Israeli officials. Examination of the available claims and official statements on the issue may continue to shape the debate over Israel’s security system and political accountability.
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