Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has formally appointed Major General Roman Gofman as the new chief of the Mossad, the country's foreign intelligence agency.
Gofman, an army officer with no prior intelligence background, will take over on June 2, 2026, when the current Mossad director, David Barnea, completes his five-year term.
Gofman, born in Belarus in 1976, immigrated to Israel at 14 and built a lengthy career in the army, including a stint as commander of the national infantry training centre during the Gaza war.
He was seriously wounded in clashes with Hamas militants in October 2023 and later joined Netanyahu's office in April 2024, where he is seen as supportive of the prime minister's nationalist ideas.
The Mossad has been praised for its contributions to several assassinations of top regional leaders and militants since the October 7 attack, but the agency has traditionally focused on external operations, not domestic security.
