Gaza war: Israel's chief military spokesperson steps down

JERUSALEM: Israel’s chief military spokesperson, one of the main public faces of the war in Gaza who faced criticism from Defence Minister Israel Katz, will step down from his post and retire, the military said on Friday.

The army said Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, a former special forces officer, would leave at the end of his term and had worked “in a time of one of the most complex wars in Israel’s history, in a professional and devoted manner”.

Israeli media outlets said an expected promotion had been blocked by the new head of the military, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, and Hagari’s departure was a consequence of his strained relations with senior ministers.

Hagari was officially rebuked by then-army chief Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi in December for overstepping his authority as spokesperson when he criticised a piece of proposed legislation that would decriminalize passing classified military information to the prime minister.

Defence Minister Israel Katz said Hagari’s comments represented a “complete deviation from his authority”.

Hagari issued an apology but came under further pressure when Katz criticised Halevi over what he said was a failure to cooperate fully with an inquiry by the State Comptroller into failures during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas.

Israeli media carried comments from Katz’s spokesperson criticising Hagari after the military issued a statement saying it was cooperating with the inquiry.

Harari has been a familiar figure on Israeli television screens since the start of the war, delivering regular briefings as well as video statements from Gaza and other locations.

Halevi himself stepped down from his command this week after accepting responsibility for the failures around the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas-led gunmen that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken into Gaza as hostages.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians and devastated the coastal enclave, leaving most of the population sheltering in bombed-out buildings or tents.