The High Court of Justice has authorized the publication that Lt.-Col. Aryeh Amidror served as the Gaza Division's senior intelligence officer on October 7, 2023, the day Hamas launched a large-scale raid into southern Israel.
According to the court decision, Amidror — the son of former National Security Council chief Yaakov Amidror, who has since been a frequent television commentator — is reported to have dismissed warnings that Hamas was preparing an operational raid known as the "Jericho Wall" plan.
W., a noncommissioned officer in Military Intelligence's Unit 8200, told Gaza Division commanders she had observed indicators that Hamas was preparing an operational raid and reported these signs to the division's intelligence team. The court record indicates that Lt.-Col. Amidror characterized those warnings as a "completely imaginary scenario" and did not treat them as an imminent threat.
A memorial ceremony at the Nova festival marking two years since the October 7 massacre when Hamas terrorists infiltrated southern Israel, murdering more than 1200 people. October 07, 2025. (credit: Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)
By late September 2023, W. became increasingly alarmed and again raised concerns after detecting unusual activity linked to Hamas. The division's senior intelligence officer reportedly deemed a raid unlikely and deferred substantive discussion until after the Sukkot holiday.
Aftermath and Official Reviews
Following the October 7 attack, which Israeli authorities say resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 civilians and combatants, military leadership conducted a series of investigations into intelligence and command failures. In September (year reported by the military), the IDF confirmed that Maj.-Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa, head of the Manpower Directorate, had released Amidror from service; earlier public documents had referred to him by the placeholder "Lt.-Col. A."
On November 23, 2025, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir concluded that several officers bore command responsibility for failures related to October 7 and recommended command-level measures. Given Amidror's role as the division's senior intelligence officer, Zamir's findings prompted a formal review to determine whether he should be discharged from military service.
Note: The High Court ruling only cleared publication of Amidror's role on October 7; the legal and administrative reviews into command responsibility and potential disciplinary measures are separate and ongoing.
James Genn contributed to this report.