Aviezer Yaari, IDF general rebuked over Yom Kippur War warning, dies at 96

Major General Aviezer Yaari, a prominent figure in Israel's military leadership, has died at 96. He will be buried in Kibbutz Merhavia. Yaari, who served nearly four decades in the IDF, held numerous senior command and staff positions. Notably, five days before the 1973 Yom Kippur War, while head of Branch 5 in Military Intelligence, he warned of an impending attack by Egypt and Syria but was reprimanded and told to present the official assessment that “nothing was happening.”

• After the war, Yaari contributed to IDF operations in the West Bank and military force buildup.
• His final IDF posting was as commander of the National Defense College from 1983 to 1986.
• Following his retirement in 1987, he served as head of defense establishment oversight in the State Comptroller’s Office until 2000.
• Giora Yaari described him as "an outstanding soldier who had a remarkable ability to foresee major disasters" and "among the best intelligence officers in the IDF and the State of Israel."