Daniel Hagari

Daniel Hagari (; born 1976) is a retired Israel Defense Forces Rear Admiral (Tat-Aluf) who served as the head of the IDF Spokesperson's Unit from 2023 to 2025. Previously he served as the commander of the Israeli Navy's operations directorate, the Chief of Staff's assistant, Commander of the Shayetet 13 marine commando unit and head of the office of the Chief of Staff.

Military service Hagari joined the Israel Defense Forces in March 1995, and volunteered to the naval special operations unit, Shayetet 13. After completing the warrior course training in the Shaytet, he then went to the infantry officer course. At the end of the course he returned to the Shayetet 13, and was appointed a platoon commander during Operation Defensive Shield. He later served as deputy commander of the Gadsar Nahal between 2003 and 2004. At the end of his position, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General (Tat-Aluf) and on 17 June 2021, he assumed his position as the Chief of the Navy's Fleet. succeeding Ran Kochav. Hagari's appointment was the continuation of a recent policy to tap career military officials instead of civilian journalists as head of the Spokesperson's Unit.

On 14 November 2023, in a video posted on official IDF web channels, Hagari guided viewers through the basements of Al-Shifa Hospital and Rantisi Children's Hospital in Gaza after their capture by Israeli forces. The goal of this video was to convey "evidence" of Hamas' use of these facilities as headquarters or for other war purposes – a claim that was denied by the Islamist organization, as well as by humanitarian and medical organizations working at the health facilities. A key part of the video was what Hagari claimed was a list of names and dates stuck to the basement wall, showing Hamas militants' shifts in guarding Israeli hostages. In fact, the list showed not names, but the days of the week, written in Arabic.

In December 2024, Hagari was reprimanded for overstepping his authority. During a press briefing, Hagari had criticized a bill in the Knesset that would grant immunity to defense personnel leaking classified information to the prime minister. Hagari called the bill "very dangerous to state security and to the IDF". He later acknowledged his overreach and apologized for his remarks.

On 7 March 2025, after a conversation between the Lieutenant general Eyal Zamir, Chief of the General Staff, and Hagari, they agreed that Hagari would end his role during the next weeks. It was claimed that Hagari requested the Major general rank, and Zamir declined. During the Twelve-Day War between Iran and Israel, Hagari returned to duty, serving behind the scenes as the acting director of the Spokesperson’s Unit and overseeing internal operations from the media operations center, known by its Hebrew acronym Hamad. He went back into retirement after the end of the war.

Personal life Hagari grew up with two brothers in Tel Aviv. He has a wife and four children. He earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a master's degree in diplomacy and security, both from Tel Aviv University. While popular with the public, Hagari clashed with Israel's political echelon, notably defense minister Israel Katz, and was criticized by Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy as essentially a propagandist who told comforting lies.

Awards and decorations Hagari was awarded three campaign ribbons for his service during three conflicts, as well as one Chief of Staff Citation. Chief of Staff CitationSecond Lebanon WarSouth Lebanon Security ZoneOperation Protective Edge