Eli Zeira, Yom Kippur War Intel Chief, Passes Away at 97

Major General (retired) Eli Zeira, the former chief of the Military Intelligence Directorate during the 1973 Yom Kippur War and a highly controversial figure in Israel’s military history, passed away at the age of 97. Born on April 4, 1928, in Haifa, Mandatory Palestine, Zeira joined the Palmach at 18 years old. He played important roles during the 1948 War of Independence, serving as a platoon and company commander in the Yiftah Infantry Brigade’s 1st Battalion. Following the war, Zeira became the first IDF officer to attend the US Army company commanders’ school. Upon his return to Israel, he pursued a bachelor’s degree in economics and statistics at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.