IDF's Arabic-Language Spokesman Avichay Adraee Retires Amid Polarized Legacy

Col. Avichay Adraee, 43, served as the IDF's first and only Arabic-language military spokesman since 2005, building a following of 2.5 million across social media platforms through a mix of official warnings, satire, and pop culture references delivered in fluent Arabic. His posts — often featuring red-shaded evacuation maps of Gaza and Lebanon — have prompted mass civilian displacement during Israel's campaigns following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack, which killed tens of thousands in Gaza and contributed to the deaths of roughly 3,500 people in Lebanon. Adraee, who grew up in Haifa and has Iraqi-Jewish heritage on his mother's side, credits his cultural background with his linguistic fluency and says his evacuation orders saved millions of lives. However, Palestinian and Lebanese civilians widely regard him as a harbinger of catastrophe, and the Committee to Protect Journalists has accused him of a 'repeated pattern' of labeling journalists as militants before or after they are killed in Israeli strikes — including posting a computer-generated image of a Lebanese journalist in military fatigues after his death. Adraee acknowledged the image should have been labeled 'illustrative' but maintained the journalist was a Hezbollah operative, without providing evidence of direct combat participation. He will be succeeded by Lt. Col. Ella Waweya, the IDF's highest-ranking Muslim woman. Analysts note his rise reflects a broader trend of state actors — including Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and the White House — using viral social media tactics to shape war narratives.