Report: Daniel Hagari expected to run in next elections

Senior political and government officials assess that IDF Spokesperson, Brigadier General Daniel Hagari, will not be promoted to Major General and may run in the upcoming elections.

Against the backdrop of Major General Eyal Zamir's appointment as IDF Chief of Staff and Major General Tamir Yadai's appointment as Deputy Chief of Staff, political and government officials believe that Prime Minister and Defense Minister Israel Katz are planning many changes in the IDF's senior leadership – which will be reflected in the round of appointments beginning with Major General (res.) Eyal Zamir's entry into the role of Chief of Staff.

According to the report on the 'Maariv' website, senior political and government officials assess that IDF Spokesperson, Brigadier General Daniel Hagari, will not be promoted to Major General.

The report also stated that senior coalition officials claim in closed conversations that "Hagari is looking for his path in politics. After expressing his position more than once – he also has good chances to open a new chapter in the upcoming elections. It seems there's a greater chance of seeing him on one of the lists for the next Knesset than being promoted to Major General."

Daniel Hagari has become one of the most recognizable faces of the IDF since October 7, giving press conferences or statements once and sometimes even twice a day in the first months of the war and even giving his own personal tours of suspected terror or hostage imprisonment sites for the Israeli and foreign press.

Hagari was the one who gave the first announcement of things such as the successful freeing of hostages by IDF forces, countering claims of IDF misconduct or deliberate attacks of civilians such as in the case of the al-Ahli Hospital, or giving the bad news regarding the deaths of hostages during the war.