2 hours ago
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday named retired Major General Eyal Zamir as the chief of staff of Israel's armed forces after his predecessor announced resignation last month, taking responsibility for failing to stop Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack.
"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz have agreed this evening on the appointment of Major General (Res.) Eyal Zamir as the next chief of staff of the (Israeli military)," Netanyahu's office said in a statement..
Eyal Zamir, a retired major general who served in the Israeli military for 28 years, would be taking over a military that has waged 15 months of war in Gaza, while also fighting in Lebanon and confronting airstrikes launched from Iran, Iraq and Yemen.
The military last month launched a large-scale operation in the northern Israeli-occupied West Bank and since late December Israeli soldiers have occupied parts of Syria.
Zamir served as the deputy chief of staff of the military from 2018 until 2021, according to the military's website. He also once headed southern command, a regional command that is responsible for military operations and defence, including the Gaza border, and was earlier a military secretary to Netanyahu.
Herzi Halevi, appointed chief of staff in 2022, announced his resignation last month, taking responsibility for the massive security failure on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants from Gaza carried out the attack on southern Israeli communities.
Halevi on Saturday congratulated Zamir and committed to a professional transfer of command. Halevi will resign on March 6.
Despite public anger over the attack, Netanyahu's government has resisted calls to open a state enquiry into its own responsibility for the security failure that resulted in 1,200 mostly Israelis being killed and about 250 hostages taken.
With inputs from agencies.
Published On:
Feb 2, 2025
