Gaza Division Intelligence Officer's Identity Blocked by Appeal After October 7th Failures

A legal battle is unfolding regarding the identity of a senior intelligence officer, identified as Lieutenant Colonel A., who served as the intelligence officer for the Gaza Division during the Hamas attack on October 7th. Following a request by Israeli media outlets ynet and "Yediot Ahronot," a court initially permitted the publication of his name. However, Lt. Col. A., who remains in active service despite the intelligence failures, has appealed this decision. Consequently, a stay of execution has been issued, pending the outcome of the legal proceedings, meaning his identity cannot yet be publicly revealed.

Lt. Col. A. is implicated in the internal IDF investigations into the intelligence failures preceding the October 7th attack. He is among the commanders identified as warranting disciplinary action. In June 2026, the Administrative Affairs Court rejected his petition to halt proceedings related to his commitment to continued service, ruling that the IDF was acting within its authority.

Separately, the name of the former intelligence chief of the Southern Command, Colonel Ariel Levobsky, has been cleared for publication. Levobsky bore significant responsibility for the intelligence failures leading up to the attack but was not dismissed. His departure from the IDF followed the revelation of an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate officer. With approval from former IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, he was transferred to the National Cyber Directorate and later resigned from the military.

Reports indicate that Levobsky was privy to Hamas's "Jericho Wall" plan, which detailed a scenario of a large-scale breach from Gaza into Israel. Despite this, the plan was not given sufficient weight in the military's preparedness for the attack, according to published findings.