Few people were surprised last week when the new IDF chief of staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, announced that R.-Adm. Daniel Hagari would no longer be the army’s chief spokesperson.
It was widely presumed that Hagari would be replaced, not only because most new IDF chiefs prefer to install a close ally in the spokesperson’s position but also because he had publicly clashed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the coalition – over the probe into some of Netanyahu’s staff for allegedly mishandling classified information relating to hostages held by Hamas, as well as regarding integrating haredim (ultra-Orthodox) into the army.
The first spokesperson to emerge from the navy, Hagari served as a top aide to former IDF chiefs Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot.
Unlike many predecessors in the role, he was also a commander at multiple levels of the elite Shayetet 13 naval commando unit, which meant his identity was kept secret for most of his career.
Trust in leadership
After October 7, as Israelis’ confidence and trust in their leaders and national institutions plummeted to an unprecedented low, Israel acquired the much-needed national comforter Hagari. Across the country, millions of Israelis heard his voice.
Hagari became a “celebrity” within the first few days of the war, since every day, and, at times, more than once daily, he was the only Israeli official updating the public about what was happening post-October 7. Articulate and intelligent, he worked very well with his unit’s reservists on his public appearances, many of whom are in senior roles in society.
Hagari was also the first spokesperson in the past few decades, if ever, to regularly speak to the international media. None of the previous spokespeople over this time period ran press conferences for the global media, but Hagari did so daily during the war.
English isn’t his mother tongue, though he still successfully got the message across efficiently and concisely. He also successfully managed several massive international crises almost by himself, such as when Hamas falsely claimed that the IDF shot a missile at a hospital in Gaza.
From his earliest daily briefings to the Israeli public until now, Hagari has been willing to speak to the public not only during the ecstatic highs of hostage releases and rescues but also during the most destabilizing lows, when no one else in the political or military echelon dared.
Hagari’s influence on Israel’s perception and public diplomacy, ranging from organizing English-language press conferences for international reporters to filming tours of Hamas tunnels and Gazan schools used for terror, cannot be understated.
However, despite widespread recognition, Hagari’s tenure was not without its challenges. Some critics argued that his frequent media appearances risked overexposure, potentially diluting the impact of his messages.
Others questioned whether his public clashes with Netanyahu over issues like the handling of classified information and haredi integration into the army blurred the line between military and political spheres – a charge Hagari faced more than once during the war.
But it was not just as the face of the most barbaric war against the most barbaric opponents that Israel has known that Hagari stood alone. His humane empathy shone through and, at times, even took him beyond his remit.
At the end of February, Hagari announced in a statement, “Yarden Bibas left his home on October 7 to protect his family and was kidnapped. Yarden looked me in the eyes yesterday and asked that the whole world know and be shocked by the way his children were murdered.”
It wasn’t Hagari’s responsibility to meet with hostage families or the hostages themselves – other than the five observers, who are still in active IDF duty. He met with numerous families and took responsibility for issues that weren’t really his to take – since there was nobody else to take this responsibility.
At a time when politicians were silent, and when the prime minister was struggling to find the moral responsibility to lead his people through war, Hagari’s ability’s to stand up and tell the world what was happening, his compassion, and his demeanor are something that people will come back to time and time again in the future, as the story of October 7 and the war against Hamas is retold.
As a lifelong servant of the nation and a lone voice during Israel’s hardest days, we say thank you, Daniel Hagari.
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