Israeli army chief to fire military spokesperson over his disagreement with Netanyahu, defense minister

By Dilara Afifi and Ikram Kouachi

ISTANBUL (AA) - Israeli Army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has decided to dismiss military spokesperson Daniel Hagari, who later managed to ensure his "forced" retirement from the service, Israel's public broadcaster reported on Friday.

"The Chief of Staff decided to dismiss the spokesperson of the Israeli army, Daniel Hagari, from his position," KAN reported.

However, it added that "the army spokesperson agreed with Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir that he would step down from his position in the coming weeks and retire from the Israeli army."

The decision comes just two days after Zamir assumed his position, replacing former Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, who led Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza for over 15 months before resigning.

The broadcaster noted that Hagari lost the confidence of Defense Minister Israel Katz and is in disagreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, but no further information was provided.

Tensions between the Israeli army and Defense Minister Katz have been escalating since January, particularly after Katz instructed Halevi to fully cooperate with an investigation by the state comptroller into the events of Oct. 7, 2023.

In a rare public response, the Israeli military said in a statement that "such matters should be resolved through direct dialogue between the defense minister and the chief of staff, not through the media."

More than 48,400 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 111,800 have been injured in a brutal Israeli onslaught on Gaza since October 2023. The assault, which left the enclave in ruins, was paused under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold on Jan. 19.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.