Eyal Harel

Eyal Harel was born in 1974 in Ramat Gan

Eyal Harel was born in Ramat Gan in 1974. His family moved to the Golan Heights and later to Kiryat Haim, where he went to high school. He is married to Yael, has three daughters and lives in Kibbutz Gesher HaZiv.

He holds a BA in economics and business administration from the University of Haifa. He also earned an MA in political science and national security from the National Security College and the University of Haifa, and an MBA from the Technion.

Harel joined the IDF in August 1992 and completed the Naval Officers Course. He commanded Dvora patrol boats and missile boats, then led Flotilla 916, Squadron 31 and the Missile Boats Flotilla. He took part in operations off Gaza and commanded the capture of the weapons ship KLOS C in the Red Sea.

From 2015 he held staff posts, including Head of the Planning Department, Head of the Naval Intelligence Division and Head of the Naval Headquarters. In 2021 he became head of the Planning Division, and in August 2023 he took over the Planning and Force Build-up Directorate as a Major General. In April 2026 he was appointed Commander of the Navy, succeeding David Saar Salama.