South Asian News Network

The new chief of Israel’s military forces, retired Major General Eyal Zamir, was named by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after his predecessor resigned for failing to prevent the October 2023 assault by Hamas. Two days following a truce in Gaza, on January 21, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi resigned, and Zamir takes over. Zamir, 59, withdrew from the military after losing out to Halevi for the top position and has been the director general of the defense ministry since 2023.

He was in charge of the army’s Southern Command, which was in charge of Gaza, and had been the deputy chief of staff until 2021. Despite taking responsibility for the military’s October 7, 2023, failure, Halevi stated that he was departing at a period of “significant successes.” Major General Yaron Finkelman, the wartime commander of Southern Command, also resigned in 2023 due to the military’s shortcomings shortly after Halevi’s statement.