Eyal Harel

Eyal Harel
Native name	אייל הראל
Born	(1974-04-27) 27 April 1974 (age 50) Israel
Allegiance	Israel
Service / branch	Israel Defense Forces
Years of service	1992–present
Rank	Aluf (major general)
Battles / wars	First Intifada Second Intifada 2006 Lebanon War Operation Cast Lead Operation Pillar of Defense Operation Protective Edge Operation Guardian of the Walls

Eyal Harel (born April 27, 1974) is an IDF officer with the rank of Major General, serving as Head of the Planning and Force Build-up Directorate.^[1] Previously he served as Head of the Planning Division, Commander of the Naval Headquarters and as Head of the Naval Intelligence Division.^[2][3]

Eyal Harel was born in Ramat Gan. The family moved to the Golan Heights.^[4]

Harel enlisted in the IDF in August 1992 and is a graduate of the Naval Officers Course, class P, majoring in Navigation Systems. He served as Deputy Machine Officer on ARM Tormenta. In 1995 he took the PIM course and was assigned as Machine Officer on INS Nitzachon (Sa'ar 4) and also served as the ship's deputy commander.^[5]

He was retrained in the command field, assigned to Flotilla 914 and served as deputy commander of Dvora patrol boat. In 1999 he graduated with distinction from the PIM course for Dvora commanders and took command of Dvora 811. He served as Dvora commander in Flotilla 914 and was engaged in routine security in the Southern Lebanon sector.^[5]

In 2000 he took the PIM course for EO officers. He returned to the Missile Boats Flotilla as EO officer on INS Yaffo, where he also served as deputy commander. In 2002 he qualified as a missile boat commander and took command of INS Romach.

In 2004 he studied full-time economics at the University of Haifa. During the 2006 Lebanon War he served in an emergency appointment as an additional missile boat commander. In 2007, after completing his studies, he was appointed Operations Officer of the Missile Boats Flotilla, during the period when the flotilla was engaged in rehabilitation and restoring operational capability after the INS Hanit incident in the Second Lebanon War.^[5]

In August 2008 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and appointed Commander of Flotilla 916, the Patrol Boats Flotilla in Ashdod. The flotilla took a major part in the fight against Palestinian terror and in Operation "Cast Lead". During this period, the flotilla participated in Operation "Winds of Heaven" to intercept protest flotillas from abroad that tried to breach the maritime closure on the Gaza Strip. He commanded several naval interception operations to prevent arms smuggling to the Gaza Strip and intercept a terrorist diving cell. During his command, there was an attempted suicide bombing attack by a fishing boat on a 916 Flotilla vessel.

In July 2010 he was appointed Commander of Squadron 31 in the Missile Boats Flotilla, commanded the squadron during Operation Pillar of Defense, attacking terror targets from the sea, and during Operation "Protective Edge", including capturing the ship Victoria, which tried to smuggle weapons to Hamas. In 2011 he served as Deputy Commander of the Missile Boats Flotilla in addition to his role as Commander of Squadron 31.

In 2013 he was appointed Commander of the Missile Boats Flotilla and promoted to Colonel. During his tenure, the flotilla won first place in the IDF elite units fitness competition and second place in the Chief of Staff prize competition. Under his command, the flotilla fought in Operation Protective Edge, attacking terror targets along the Gaza Strip coast, enforcing the maritime closure and protecting the gas rigs. He also commanded the naval force in Operation Full Disclosure to capture the Iranian weapons ship KLOS C in the Red Sea.^[6]

In 2015 he was appointed Head of the Planning Department in the Planning Directorate. In this role, he was responsible, among other things, for planning and implementing the IDF Gideon Doctrine.

In July 2018 he was appointed Head of the Naval Intelligence Division.^[7] In this position he made changes to the organizational structure of the division to adapt it to the way the Intelligence Directorate functions and its work processes. For this purpose, a third department - the Operations Department - was established in the division, whose purpose is to maintain close working relations with the Operations Division in the Intelligence Directorate and the IDF Operations Branch. The change led to increased operational effectiveness and navigation of complex intelligence systems.

In October 2019 he was appointed Head of the Naval Headquarters.^[8] He worked on adapting the change in the Navy's operational headquarters, establishing the Control Unit and the Economic Maritime Arena at the department level. Writing an operational concept for the operational headquarters in operational activity and leading the activity of the Navy during the between the wars campaign period.

In May 2021 he was appointed head of the Planning Division in the Planning Directorate. As head of the Planning Division, he is engaged in planning and implementing the Momentum IDF multi-year plan of the Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi. On May 3, 2023, the decision was announced to appoint him as head of the Planning and Force Build-up Directorate, with the rank of Major General,^[3] which was conferred on him in June of that year. On August 2, 2023, he assumed the position of Head of the Planning and Force Build-up Directorate.^[9]

Harel is a graduate of the Interservice Command and Staff College, the Brigade Commander's course, and holds a BA in Economics and Business Administration from the University of Haifa. He also has an MA with honors in Political Science and National Security from the National Security College and the University of Haifa.

Harel is married to Yael, née Klineberger, who works at the University of Haifa, and is the father of three daughters. He resides in Kibbutz Gesher HaZiv.^[4]