In Haaretz's report about the warning Netanyahu received before the Hamas massacre, Sufian Abu Zaida was referred to as 'Coal Eyes' to protect his identity. According to him, talks between Hamas and Israel were not related to the October 7 attacks
September 21st, 12PM September 21st, 12PM
Former senior Fatah official Sufian Abu Zaida, who mediated between Israel and Hamas before the attacks on October 7, 2023, said on Monday morning that the sides had been close to signing an agreement before the massacre.
In a Facebook post, Abu Zaida, a confidant of exiled Palestinian politician Mohammed Dahlan, stressed that the talks had nothing to do with the surprise attack. "We have no connection whatsoever to what happened on October 7, nor does it have anything to do with the role I played," he wrote. "Everything I did was aimed at preventing Gaza from reaching the situation it is in today."
Abu Zaida added that in an interview set to air on Egypt's Alghad TV channel later this week, he will reveal a message that Hamas' then-leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar asked him to convey to Israel about three weeks before the massacre, as well as Israel's response.
Abu Zaida said in an interview with Egypt's Alghad TV that Sinwar twice warned him in September 2023 that he was preparing a major operation and instructed him to pass the warning to Israeli officials.
The contacts, first reported by Haaretz earlier this month, involved Hamas political bureau member Ghazi Hamad and Abu Zaida, who was recruited by Israel as an intermediary in the talks and referred to as "Coal Eyes."
According to Abu Zaida, the discussions between Israel and Hamas focused on a potential deal under which Israel would release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of living Israeli hostages and the return of the bodies of hostages held in Gaza. The talks also addressed easing the blockade on Gaza, allowing Gazans to work in Israel, and finding solutions to the enclave's electricity, water and other humanitarian needs.
In his Facebook post on Monday, Abu Zaida also said Dahlan and his associate, Samir Mashharawi, were kept informed of the details of the negotiations. According to Abu Zaida, the indirect talks, which he managed, began in March 2022 at Ghazi Hamad's initiative and with Sinwar's approval.
According to Abu Zaida, the talks continued for about a year and a half and focused on returning the bodies of IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, who were killed during Israel's 2014 Gaza war, as well as the return of Israeli captives Abera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed.
In exchange, Hamas sought the release of Palestinian prisoners, easing of the blockade on the Gaza Strip, allowing workers from Gaza to work in Israel, solutions to Gaza's electricity shortages and assistance with other humanitarian needs.
Abu Zaida was born in the Jabalya refugee camp in the Gaza Strip in 1960. He previously served as the Palestinian Authority's minister for prisoner affairs and as deputy minister of civil affairs. In those roles, he was involved in contacts with Israeli officials on issues including prisoners, border crossings, permits and civil coordination. A former prisoner, he speaks fluent Hebrew and holds a doctorate in Middle East politics.
Over the years, he has been a vocal critic of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and has long been associated with the reformist Fatah movement led by Dahlan. Abu Zaida works as a commentator on Palestinian and Israeli affairs and has ties to political and security officials in Israel.
His role was to convey messages between the parties, so it would not appear as if there was direct contact between Hamas and Israel. In practice, these conversations were virtually direct. Ghazi Hamad and Abu Zaida would sit at the Gaza home of Nasser Sarraj, who previously served as deputy director of the Palestinian Authority's Civil Affairs Ministry, where they spoke directly to Shin Bet security service operatives.
According to Haaretz's report, Sinwar told Abu Zaida in September 2023: "Tell the Israelis that if they don't make progress, I'm preparing a huge surprise for them ... Tell them to expect a 'zilzal,' an earthquake."
Abu Zaida reported the conversation to a Palestinian who had emigrated from Gaza to Abu Dhabi and served as a close adviser to Emirati President Mohamed bin Zayed, who sought to verify the seriousness of Sinwar's threat. Abu Zaida was then asked to hold another meeting with the Hamas leader in Gaza. The meeting took place in mid-September 2023.
Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed. Credit: Michel Euler/AP
In the meeting, Sinwar told him: "Convey a message to them that I am preparing the mother of all surprises. A terrifying operation. Something extraordinary." Again, he used the word "zilzal."
"Please convey to the Israelis what I am saying word for word," Sinwar said to him.
The Palestinian official once again relayed the message to the emir's adviser. The adviser briefed Sheikh Mohamed on his impression of the conversation, and the emir decided that "the message from Sinwar must be passed on as soon as possible to the Israelis, at the highest levels there." On Sept. 15, Abu Zaida and the adviser passed the warning to the Shin Bet security service.
Then-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar requested an immediate phone call with the prime minister, which was arranged by Netanyahu's military secretary at the time, Avi Gil. During the call, Bar briefed Netanyahu on Sinwar's threats of an "earthquake," and it was decided to hold a security discussion with all relevant security agencies.
Two days later, top security officials discussed the warning, but no decisions were made. After seeing that Israel was not responding to the clear warning conveyed to the Shin Bet, Sheikh Mohamed decided to speak directly with Netanyahu and relay to him Sinwar's warning about his intentions.
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