From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 8, 2024
Netanyahu taps Yaron Cohen to head bureau overseeing hostage matters
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appoints Col. (res.) Yaron Cohen to head the Hostages, Missing Persons and Returnees Division in the Prime Minister’s Office.
The appointment is approved by the Civil Service Commission.
Cohen served in manpower positions in the IDF General Staff, and as a staff officer in the 98th and 91st Divisions. He has worked as a senior executive in Maccabi Healthcare Service’s manpower department.
Cohen has been working with Netanyahu’s hostage envoy Gal Hirsch as the official in charge of situation assessments.
Cohen will head the department tasked with coordinating all the government efforts to return the hostages from Gaza, and to assist those who have made it back to Israel.
