How Netanyahu survived the political fallout from the October 7 attacks

Three years ago, thousands of Hamas-led militants breached the border between Gaza and Israel in a surprise attack, killing 1,205 people and taking 251 as hostages back to the Gaza Strip. Israel responded with a heavy hand and launched a military campaign in Gaza during which at least 74,347 people have been killed, according to the enclave’s Hamas-run health ministry. The events have left deep scars in Israel, where voters will elect a new parliament on October 27, and have become a central issue in the campaign. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is running for another term, but the question of what he knew before the deadly attacks three years ago is hanging over Israel’s longest-serving leader. As Israel heads to the polls, reports that Arab leaders warned him of a looming Hamas offensive have not let up. What Netanyahu knew Israeli journalists Shlomi Eldar and Ruth Yuval revealed that President Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had warned Netanyahu by phone about 10 days before the October 7 attacks in 2023 that a major confrontation with Hamas was coming. In extracts of their book that were first published on September 8 by Israeli newspaper Haaret...