Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic‑language spokesman, announced Tuesday that he will leave his post in the coming months. After 20 years, the officer who established his status as a “star” in the Arab world will retire and is likely to be succeeded by Major Ella Waweya.
Some have cursed him, others have chosen more supportive messages on social media, but one thing is certain: everyone followed him. The content he published included messages and information essential to the Arab world and Palestinians, alongside daily transmission of IDF messaging.
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Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, the outgoing IDF’s Arabic‑language spokesman
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The Arab world regards his publications as credible, unlike many other Arabic‑language media sources. That’s why even Israel’s antagonists prefer to follow him—to know everything and quickly. In the past two years, amid the war in the Gaza Strip and the North, he also became the face of evacuation warnings in Gaza, Lebanon and even Yemen. After the evacuation notice he issued this week for villages in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese took cover, raised cameras and waited for a strike, because they trusted the precise warning he provided.
Although a conversation with him — or even a social media reply to one of his posts — is considered in some places “normalization with the Israeli enemy," Adraee over the years gave many interviews, even live broadcasts, in Arabic‑language media. He spoke in clear, fluent Arabic, and sought to deliver Israel’s perspective to audiences in the Arab world — even when the interviewers challenged him or expressed hostility toward an Israeli military officer.
IDF Spokesperson in Arabic: "We will not stop until we return the hostages and dismantle Hamas's reign of terror"
(Video: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
In some cases, it was his interviewers who bore the brunt of the criticism, as in the case of Lebanese journalist Layal Alkhetiar, a correspondent for the Saudi channel Al‑Arabiya, who interviewed Adraee in November 2023 at the start of the war. After she called him “Mr. Adraee” and “spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces”, a media campaign was launched against her that even led to legal action.
Adraee’s status explains the extensive coverage of his impending departure in Arab websites and channels. Reports and videos about his years of service and who might replace him have appeared in Arabic media. Lebanese channel MTV, known for its opposition to Hezbollah, published an article under the headline: “After Adraee, who will be the nightmare of the Lebanese people?”
The item also asked: Who is “Captain Ella?”—referring to Major Ella Waweya, who in recent years has served as deputy Arabic‑spokesperson for the IDF and has become a familiar figure in her own right. However, no official confirmation of a successor has been published yet.
Other headlines in Arabic media after the announcement included: “Israel seeks a successor for Avichay Adraee” and “Avichay Adraee leaves the Israeli army." The Saudi outlet Asharq Al‑Awsat wrote that he is one of the most‑followed and engaged Israeli figures on social media, and that his decision to leave his post surprised many of his followers — and even those who followed from afar. The article reviewed his years of activity, noting he gave hundreds of interviews to Arabic media and accumulated millions of followers.
In the comments about his impending departure on the X platform one user claimed: "When Avichay Adraee announces his resignation, the propaganda in Israel will not stop. Every day, the nation gives birth to thousands of 'Adraees' with Arabic language and captive hearts, who justify aggression, embellish lies and fight against the truth." Another user added, referring to the reports of the appointment of Major Waweya: "Now we have to obey women's orders and stay 500 meters away."
On his Facebook account alone Adraee has approximately 2.5 million followers, and over the years he received personal messages from figures in Hezbollah and Hamas following his rise to recognition. He was involved repeatedly in confrontations as part of his role. On X his follower count is around 548 000, and on Instagram about 104 000.
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Warning issued in Arabic to residents of southern Lebanon before IDF attack last week
(Photo: IDF spokesperson in Arabic)
Shortly after the deadly Hamas surprise attack on October 7, Adraee addressed residents of the Zeitoun neighborhood in northern Gaza via X, urging them to evacuate to the southern Strip “for your security." An Egyptian singer replied to his post stating: “May God take you” — and he answered: “God will take them all, no one will stay always on this land. But the difference is: some will face painful suffering after death, and some Allah will have mercy on for their humanitarian deeds.”
At the beginning of the war he posted another video that received wide coverage — about 750 000 views on X — with the caption: “The difference between Shifa hospital and the hospitals in Gaza to the hospitals in the Arab world is that it is the first that Hamas‑Islamic State exploit for their purpose.”
In the video Adraee contacts a “hospital” and speaks in Arabic. He asks if there happen to be tunnels, weapons and hostages in the hospital—and explains this is the condition in Gaza hospitals.
In January 2024 Adraee publicly “congratulated” Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who has since been eliminated, on his 62nd birthday. He wrote: “On this day a terrorist was born, his role was to steal the money of the poor and needy, exploit it and build the most luxurious homes ever, while prospering and being happy at the expense of the ruins, bodies and destruction in Gaza. This is Ismail Haniyeh — a Islamic State man.”
In a video posted in October 2024 on X that had about 1.5 million views, Adraee appears with footage of the Israeli Air Force bombing Hezbollah targets in Lebanon behind him. The message is clear: “We will continue to strike the terror organization – its members, its leaders, its facilities and its weapons.”
Another video that got nearly 2 million views was posted after the elimination of Hezbollah Secretary‑General Hassan Nasrallah. It showed leading activists of the group whom the IDF had killed in domino‑style fall, concluding with the question: “Who is next?”
A few days before Nasrallah’s elimination, Adraee uploaded another viral video showing him watching footage of the mass flight of southern Lebanese from the area. He addressed viewers: “Nasrallah sold you out for missiles, he stole your houses. This is the person you pledged allegiance to. He betrayed your trust and abandoned you to an unknown fate.”
Adraee became known also in Yemen, particularly after Israel’s strikes in that country began. Following evacuation warnings to ports under Houthi control, Iran’s envoys in Yemen decided to “do Adraee," and shortly after Israel announced renewal of its ground operation in Gaza they sent a threat to Israel in his style: “Within hours we will attack Ben‑Gurion Airport. Evacuate immediately.”
Adraee’s influence did not go unnoticed by terrorists who sought to harm him. Several months before the combined terror attack in Ra’anana in January 2024—when a woman was killed and 18 others were injured in a car‑ramming and stabbing—one of the terrorists happened to encounter Adraee in a restaurant in the city. He followed him and sought to harm him — though he did not have a knife. The terrorist later returned to the same place carrying a knife in an attempt to locate Adraee but failed. Frustrated, he changed direction and carried out the attack.