Zvi Zamir, who as the director of Israel’s Mossad spy agency, led a campaign to crush Palestinian terrorism after 11 Israelis were killed at the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. He also relayed a warning to his government that Egypt and Syria were about to start the Yom Kippur War. Mr. Zamir died on Jan. 2. He was 98.

“Zamir led a determined and initiative-taking approach in the State of Israel’s fight against Palestinian terrorism, which was strengthening at the time,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

On Oct. 7, 2023, 50 years after the Yom Kippur War began, Hamas and other militant groups based in Gaza crossed the border with Israel and killed an estimated 1,200 Israelis and took hundreds of hostages. Israel has retaliated by vowing to destroy Hamas, The New York Times reported.

At Mr. Zamir’s funeral, David Barnea, the current director of the Mossad, said that  “Zvicka’s spirit will accompany us in this mission.”