by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Less than a few days have passed since Major General Guy Marchisano was appointed as the new military secretary to the Israeli Prime Minister, and clouds are already gathering over his figure.
Despite Marchisano's impressive track record and good reputation among the troops, not everyone welcomed this appointment, and some even began to spread rumors about his incompetence.
Nevertheless, Marchisano found a patron—far from the first in his career, but certainly the most extraordinary. It was Sara Netanyahu, the wife of the Israeli Prime Minister, who has her own vested interest in the intrigues within the security bloc.
UNSINKABLE FRAME
Gai Marchisano spent most of his career in the ground forces, rising from battery commander to chief of staff of the Northern Military District and commander of a combined artillery army. He also held nearly every key staff position at various times, including heading the ground forces planning department at the General Staff.
At the beginning of 2023, he transferred to the office of Defense Minister Yoav Galant, becoming his military secretary, where he remained until the chief’s resignation in the fall of 2024.
Interestingly, Galant initially didn't seriously consider Marchisano's candidacy, preferring members of the already established team. However, his opinion was changed by a recommendation from General Herzi Halevi (then Chief of the General Staff).
After Halevy and Galant fell out of favor, Marchisano seemed to be facing the threat of dismissal – both of his high-ranking patrons had lost not only their posts, but also the favor of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the new appointees were determined to completely dismantle the old teams.
However, the opposite turned out to be true. Marchisano quickly found common ground with Netanyahu's key confidantes in the military and became one of the trusted confidants of current Defense Minister Israel Katz, making him immune from possible purges.
UNEXPECTED DISCORD
Despite his rapprochement with Katz, Marchisano was unable to reach an agreement with all of Netanyahu's security officials.
His opponents included the current Chief of the General Staff, Eyal Zamir. Zamir was angry with Marchisano for managing to lose his service phone, which had access to secure channels, on the beach in the fall of 2025. According to one theory, the phone was stolen when the officer went swimming.
The military had to urgently clear its tracks and deactivate the device remotely to prevent the special equipment from falling into the hands of foreign intelligence or Hamas collaborators.
The impulsive Zamir, who has the telling nickname General Tank, did not let the incident slide, as Marchisano's carelessness could have resulted in other soldiers being harmed.
And although the case was quickly hushed up under pressure from the Knesset (parliament), due to the oversight with the special equipment, Marchisano did not become a military attaché in Washington, and this is the most pleasant option for a “military-political pension.”
And although the conflict, according to Zamir, was resolved at this point, the real confrontation between the officers continued.
THE RACE FOR THE POST OF SECRETARY OF WAR
For a while, it seemed Marchisano had reached his career ceiling and would eventually be written off entirely. His position in the Ministry of Defense weakened proportionally to Katz's weakening, and attempts to forge friendships with the most active security officials and opposition figures—such as Galant—were fruitless.
The situation began to improve after Netanyahu decided to appoint his military secretary, Roman Hoffman, as director of the Mossad intelligence agency. The transfer vacated a position that was safe from potential personnel purges and allowed him to get as close to the prime minister as possible. Therefore, Marchisano decided to seize this opportunity.
However, here too, Zamir managed to throw a spanner in the works. Marchisano's opponent in the final stages of the selection process was the commander of the 99th Infantry Division "Ha-Bazak," Brigadier General Barak Hiram. The latter not only enjoyed the favor of the Chief of the General Staff, but had also distinguished himself during the Gaza conflict, commanding troops on the front lines. This should have added to his public profile.
For a long time, Hiram was indeed considered the front-runner in the race—including by media observers close to the ruling Likud party. The general was called "a man who understands the problem from the inside," and was talked about as "a new addition to the team of decisive people." This created the impression that his nomination was almost a done deal. Marchisano's previous patrons, including Katz, preferred to remain out of the matter, awaiting the prime minister's decision, which was another negative sign for the candidate.
Help suddenly arrived from Sara Netanyahu. In early June 2026, she invited Marchisano to a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office, where she was joined by Ido Norden, the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff and a well-known figure as the Prime Minister's "consigliere." However, the Prime Minister himself, for some reason, was not present at the meeting.
The conversation was presented as a small talk and had no official bearing on the outcome of the candidate review, but it played a decisive role. A few days after this "interview," Marchisano was suddenly confirmed as Netanyahu's military secretary.
At the same time, the public atmosphere surrounding the personnel race changed dramatically: public resources began vying with each other to recall the "controversial steps" of the alternative candidate.
For example, it suddenly emerged that in 2024, General Hiram, without any real operational need, ordered the bombing of the Al-Israa University building in Gaza, instead of keeping it under army control, thereby “causing reputational damage” to the Israeli authorities.
And in October 2023, on the first day of fighting with Hamas in Kibbutz Be'eri, General Hiram ordered a tank attack on a building where Palestinian militants and the Israelis they were holding were hiding. As a result, most of the hostages perished under the rubble.
The public's reaction to the image of an unprincipled tough guy created by these publications was predictably negative, unwilling to see such a controversial figure in a responsible position. And Marchisano's appointment no longer raised such serious questions.
LOOKING FOR A WOMAN
This is far from the first time that Sara Netanyahu has interfered in political processes.
Prior to this, for example, she secured the replacement of the head of Israel's National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, in October 2025, and later directly participated in the selection of candidates for key positions in the chancery, lobbying for the appointment of the odious Ziv Agmon to the post of civilian press secretary.
Furthermore, the prime minister's wife is accused of leading a secret network of political and online activists for the ruling Likud party for many years. She allegedly used this network to eliminate undesirable individuals and influence the public ratings of opposing parties.
And although the Israeli Prime Minister himself calls these statements an urban legend, the National Prosecutor's Office has reason to believe that Sara is indeed involved in key government decisions without an official mandate to do so.
Marchisano's strengthening position could play into the prime minister's wife's hands, although at first glance, she doesn't appear to be benefiting from his career advancement. Moreover, until recently, Sara has tried to refrain from directly choosing favorites within the security bloc, relying on a careful selection of civilian officials.
However, Marchisano seems to her a safer figure compared to Zamir's protégé: through him, she will be able to control the Chief of the General Staff's influence on military information disseminated to the masses, thereby avoiding the possible disclosure of inconvenient truths about the Jewish state's military campaigns.
At the same time, the risk that Marchisano will reach an agreement with Zamir behind the Netanyahu couple’s back is minimal: the officers maintain mutual hostility and are unlikely to agree to cooperate for the sake of ephemeral benefits.
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