TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — For more than two years, hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza and Lebanon have lived in dread of Avichay Adraee’s next social media post.Israel’s Arabic-language military spokesman has been the animated face of its campaigns and the main source of warnings ahead of strikes and major offensives. That has made him one of the most recognizable Israelis in the Arab world and a focus of fury as well as some fascination.In social media videos shared to his 2.5 million followers across platforms, the colonel appears in military fatigues, gesticulating as he delivers official statements and mocks Israel’s enemies, often using satire or pop culture references, all in fluent Arabic.In the wars sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, his social media accounts have carried warnings for civilians to leave — sometimes at a moment’s notice — areas shaded in red on maps of Gaza and Lebanon. Millions have paid heed, with hundreds of thousands seeking refuge in squalid tent camps.
Adraee, who is retiring this year, takes pride in his work. Asked to respond to the fact that many associate him with death and displacement, he said he has helped Arabs to better understand Israel’s military operations.“Because of these evacuation orders, many millions were saved,” he told The Associated Press. “There’s no other army in the world that acts this way.”
