Israel’s incoming Mossad chief, Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman, was the most senior Israel Defense Forces officer who took part in the battles against thousands of terrorists who invaded the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023, from the Gaza Strip.
New footage released from that day and shared on social media on Sunday shows Gofman at the embattled Sha’ar HaNegev Junction near the Gaza border, carrying only his personal weapon.
At one point, the officer is seen running from the junction to join a small Israel Police force. Gofman was wounded during the fighting and subsequently admitted to the hospital.
Israel has shared new footage from October 7, showing Mossad's incoming chief, unarmored and armed only with his personal weapon, fighting Hamas terrorists.
— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) December 7, 2025
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A resident of Ashdod in Israel’s south, Gofman rushed on Oct. 7 to the Gaza Envelope when he heard the news about the infiltration.
A United Hatzalah ambulance driver, Moshe Weitzman, told Israel Hayom that around 8:30 a.m. on that morning he arrived in the area and pulled out an injured soldier who turned out to be the high-ranking officer.
“He had a gunshot wound and told me his name was Roman and that he is the commander of the Tze’elim base. He communicated with me the entire way, and I made sure he stayed conscious throughout the evacuation,” Weitzman recounted.
Gofman is currently Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military secretary. He is set to replace David Barnea, who will complete his five-year term in June.
After formally appointing Gofman as the next director of the Mossad intelligence agency, Netanyahu praised his “exceptional professional abilities” and his coordination with intelligence agencies throughout the war’s seven operational theaters, calling him “the most suitable and deserving candidate” for the position.
“Maj.-Gen. Roman Gofman is an officer of great merit. His appointment as the military secretary to the prime minister in the midst of the War of Redemption proved his exceptional professional capabilities, from his rapid entry into the role to his immediate and significant involvement in the seven theaters of the war,” according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
