Name unmasked as Israel confronts Hamas’ planned massacre and demands accountability for deadly intelligence lapse.
In a long-awaited development, the IDF military censor on Wednesday permitted publication of the identity of the Southern Command’s intelligence officer who held critical responsibility in the months leading up to Hamas’ barbaric Oct. 7 attack. The officer has been revealed as Lt. Col. Ariel Levovsky.
His identity was previously shielded due to his sensitive intelligence role, but now—following his departure from the IDF—the confidentiality restrictions have been lifted.
Lt. Col. Levovsky served as the intelligence officer overseeing the Southern Command during the crucial period when Israel first detected fragments of the Hamas invasion blueprint, ominously codenamed “The Wall of Jericho.” This was the very plan that guided Hamas’ genocidal assault on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7.
According to reports, Levovsky was among the officers who saw the material but assessed it as a simulation or an unlikely scenario rather than a genuine strategic threat—a misjudgment that tragically aligned with Hamas’s years-long deception strategy and Israel’s deadly underestimation of Gaza’s terror machine.
Months after the war broke out, Levovsky was dismissed—not for his role in the intelligence failure, but for engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a female officer in the unit during wartime. The relationship occurred after the fighting had begun, and it was the sole reason for his dismissal.
Despite the controversy, then-Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi approved transferring Levovsky on loan to the National Cyber Directorate so he could complete pension qualifications. He served there quietly until his recent full discharge. The decision infuriated bereaved families and senior IDF officers, many of whom believe that failures of such magnitude should have resulted in harsher consequences, given the scale of Hamas’s atrocities.
Meanwhile, the Gaza Division’s intelligence officer on duty during the attack is still serving in the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate. His identity remains under military gag order, and he has since been reassigned to a sensitive position under the Chief Intelligence Officer’s command.
As Israel continues to uncover the layers of deception Hamas used to prepare its massacre, the exposure of key figures tied to the pre-attack intelligence picture fuels the national demand for full transparency, accountability, and decisive reforms to ensure no terror organization ever blindsides Israel again.
