Hananya Naftali

Hananya Naftali (חנניה נפתלי; born 7 July 1995) is an Israeli journalist. He serves as the digital aide to the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Early life
Naftali was born in Safed in 1995 and grew up in the West Bank. He graduated from Kadoorie Agricultural High School.

Acts of journalism
In 2017, after gaining around 200,000 followers on Facebook, Naftali was able to interview the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. A few months later, he began to serve as Netanyahu's deputy social media adviser. He also worked as a freelancer for the Likud party

Military life
Hananaya announced on X that he was drafted into the army to fight against Hamas in 2023 Israel–Hamas war.

On 17 October 2023, in response to the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital explosion, he posted a tweet: "Israeli Air Force struck a Hamas terrorist base inside a hospital in Gaza." He later deleted this tweet, after Israeli government decided to accuse a misfired Palestinian rocket for the explosion. There was controversy when it wasn't clear if Naftali was or wasn't an authorised spokesman on behalf of the Israeli government, or employed by the Likud party. According to Nicola Perugini and Neve Gordon, the above is an example of false accusing Hamas of using human shields.

Personal life
Naftali was born to Jewish parents born in the Soviet Union. While he considers himself a follower of Jesus, he identifies with Messianic Judaism. He said: "I am Jewish, but I follow the teachings of the New Testament as well. It is not my job to tell people what they should believe in...". He has been accused of having proselytized during his army service, which he denies.

Naftali is married to India Naftali, an Israeli journalist.