Brig. Gen. (res.) Amit Saar, who headed the Military Intelligence Research Department at the time of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, died Wednesday night after a battle with brain cancer. He was 47.

Saar led the department from late 2020 and served as Israel’s top intelligence evaluator for over three years. He was considered among the officials who bore responsibility for the intelligence lapse that allowed for the Hamas-led invasion.

According to a Haaretz report from November 2023, Saar twice warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier that year that domestic tension over the planned judicial overhaul was encouraging Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas to potentially attack Israel.

He did not, however, manage to foresee Hamas’s assault.

After having indicated he would resign over the intelligence failures, Saar ended up stepping down in April 2024 to undergo immediate treatment for a malignant brain tumor.

In a........

© The Times of Israel