Senior Navy officer Daniel Hagari tapped as IDF spokesperson

Incoming military chief Herzi Halevi named a senior Navy officer, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, as the military’s next spokesperson on Thursday to replace Brig. Gen. Ran Kochav.

The move was approved by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The military said Hagari would enter the position in the coming months, but did not immediately set a date for the change.

Halevi is due to enter the role of IDF chief of staff on January 17, replacing Aviv Kohavi.

Kochav has served as the head of the IDF’s Spokesperson Unit for just over a year and a half. The tenure of military spokespeople is usually around two years.

Kochav’s future in the IDF was not immediately known.

IDF Spokesperson Ran Kochav in an official undated portrait. (Israel Defense Forces)

Hagari is the latest in a line of career military officers to command the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, ending a previously common practice of naming civilians with a deep background in journalism or communications for the role.

Hagari, who is married and has four children, has served in the military since 1995, mostly in the Navy’s elite Shayetet 13 unit.

From 2012 to 2014, he served as then-chief of staff Benny Gantz’s office manager, and from 2016 to 2019, he served as an assistant to then-chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, before returning to become the commander of Shayetet 13. Hagari’s most recent role was head of naval operations.

Hagari has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s degree in diplomacy and defense, both from Tel Aviv University.