Eyal Zamir takes over from Herzi Halevi as IDF chief, vows victory over Hamas
In parting speech, outgoing military chief of staff calls for state commission of inquiry into October 7; successor says he will do everything to bring home remaining hostages
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Eyal Zamir took over Wednesday as the 24th commander of the Israel Defense Forces, replacing Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, who resigned over the military’s failure to prevent Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.
Taking the helm, Zamir vowed to lead the military to victory, draft members of the ultra-Orthodox community, and bring home all the hostages still held by the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip.
The handover began at an 11 a.m. ceremony at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, where the first order of the day promoted Zamir, 59, to the rank of lieutenant general, the military’s highest rank.
Due to the handover ceremony taking place in wartime, the IDF forwent dress uniforms and both Halevi and Zamir wore their work uniforms, known in the military as Madei Bet.
Zamir, who until recently served as the director general of the Defense Ministry, returned to the military to lead it in the ongoing war. He was tapped by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz last month.
Halevi announced his departure in January after only two years in the role rather than the traditional four. He had long been expected to step down once the war in Gaza began winding down, over the military failures that enabled the Hamas attack to occur.
In his first speech after being promoted, Zamir said: “The task that I am receiving today is clear: to lead the IDF to victory,”
“I receive command of the IDF today, modestly and with humility. On October 7, the border was breached, and our enemies infiltrated our communities. Out of the fracture, the people of Israel rose and again proved their power in the moment of truth,” he said.
“The IDF has achieved impressive achievements on the battlefield. We won battles in Gaza and Lebanon, we struck far away in Yemen and Iran. Hamas received a heavy blow, but it has not yet been defeated. The mission has not yet been completed,” he said.
Addressing the families of hostages still held by the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip, Zamir said, “Your loved ones are before my eyes. Our moral duty is clear: Bring everyone back home, in any way possible and as quickly as possible.”
In comments aimed at the ultra-Orthodox community, Zamir said he “urges all segments of Israeli society to participate in the mitzvah [religious commandment] of defending the homeland. This is a shared responsibility.”
“The IDF is the army of the people. Facing external threats, we must have cohesion of the ranks. We will work to expand the ranks. The defensive missions must be shared,” he said.
Speaking at the same ceremony, outgoing chief Halevi called for establishing a national commission of inquiry into the October 7 onslaught.
“The establishment of a state commission of inquiry is necessary and vital. Not to find someone to blame, but first and foremost to reach the source of the problems and allow for repair,” Halevi said.
“On October 7, the IDF failed. It was a deep failure. But such a failure on this scale cannot only be investigated in the IDF and the Shin Bet,” he said.
He made his comments in front of Netanyahu, who has strongly resisted such a probe.
Halevi in his speech also slammed incessant criticism of the military from some politicians and members of the public, both before the war and during it. “This does not help us to be better. It may harm the soldiers’ trust, and that of their commanders,” he said.
“Some of those preaching about a lack of courage and determination have never felt a cold trigger at night in front of an enemy, never heard the breath of a wounded friend on a stretcher in enemy territory,” Halevi said.
Speaking at the ceremony, Netanyahu said that “the nation wants victory, and it is receiving, and will receive, victory.”
He also promised that “we will bring home all of [the hostages].”
Netanyahu praised Halevi’s four decades as a commander in the IDF. Many of the operations he led, said Netanyahu, “will remain secret for a long time.”
“Thank you, Herzi, the 23rd chief of staff, for your important role in our string of achievements after the attack of October 7,” he said.
The prime minister noted that this was the third time he had recommended Zamir as IDF commander. He recalled Zamir’s tenure as his military secretary. He said he was struck by “the Zionism that beats within you… and the professional commitment as the link between the IDF and other security officials to the prime minister.”
Netanyahu noted the importance of Zamir’s time as director general of the Defense Ministry during the war, during which he led major procurement processes.
Also speaking at the ceremony, Defense Minister Israel Katz reminded Zamir that he would have no time to learn the job before being thrown into the fray.
“The security challenges around us do not leave the new chief of staff 100 minutes of grace. In fact, Eyal, you don’t have even one minute of grace,” he said.
Addressing Zamir, Katz said that Halevi’s “ceiling is your floor. And I am convinced that you will raise it higher and higher.”
Katz also said that if Hamas does not release the remaining hostages it still holds, “we will return to fighting, and it will face the IDF with strength and methods that it did not know, until [Hamas] is totally defeated.”
“We will not allow Hamas to rule in Gaza,” Katz added.
Gen. Michael Kurilla, the head of the United States Central Command and a close friend of Halevi’s, was present at the ceremony and was invited to speak, but he declined.
In keeping with tradition, after the rank awarding ceremony, Zamir and Halevi visited the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, the iconic remnant of the Second Temple complex that has been a focal point for the Jewish people for 2,000 years.
In Jerusalem, the incoming and outgoing IDF chiefs met with President Isaac Herzog at the President’s Residence and visited the National Memorial Hall for Israel’s fallen soldiers at Mount Herzl, where they lit a candle and laid a wreath, before heading back to Tel Aviv for an official passing of the baton.
At the military’s Kirya headquarters in Tel Aviv, a minimal handover ceremony was held, without the usual large crowd, motorcade, and red carpet. The ceremony began with a moment of silence for the IDF’s fallen troops.
After the official handover, Zamir and Katz held a meeting with the IDF’s General Staff Forum, made up of top generals as well as civilian members such as the director general of the Defense Ministry.
Last month, Katz selected former Ground Forces chief Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai for the position of Zamir’s deputy. He is set to take over from Maj. Gen. Amir Baram in a ceremony on Thursday. Baram, meanwhile, will soon enter the role of Defense Ministry director general — Zamir’s former role.
Upon his entry into the role, Zamir is set to discuss the appointments of numerous commanders. This is because appointments of senior officers have been on hold under orders of Katz, and several top generals are expected to follow in Halevi’s footsteps and resign over October 7.
On Wednesday night, Zamir will discuss the appointments of around 60 brigadier generals and colonels. Another discussion was set for Thursday, and a third meeting will be held before the end of the month.
Among the top generals who have announced their resignations from the military, but have not yet left, are the chief of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman; the chief of the Operations Directorate, Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk; and the chief of the Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate — which is tasked with the military’s Iran file — Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano.
Zamir, meanwhile, appointed a new assistant, Lt. Col. Alon Laniado, who will be promoted to the rank of colonel; an office manager, Lt. Col. Tomer Sayag; and a high command secretary, Lt. Col. Noy Tal.
Zamir was twice previously considered to lead the IDF, in 2018 and 2022. Ultimately, however, Lt. Gen. (res.) Aviv Kohavi and Halevi were selected instead, respectively.
Born in Israel’s southernmost city of Eilat, Zamir was the first military chief in the country’s history to have started his service in the Armored Corps.
Zamir joined the military in 1984. After completing the tank officer’s training course, he rose through the ranks and went on to command the 7th Armored Brigade in 2003 and the 36th Armored Division in 2009.
Between 2012 and 2015, he was Netanyahu’s military secretary.
After leaving the premier’s service, he was appointed commander of the IDF Southern Command, overseeing the military response to violent protests organized by Hamas along the Gaza border.
Between 2018 and 2021, he served as deputy IDF chief of staff, his final role in the army at the time, before heading to the United States to become a visiting research fellow at the Washington Institute think tank.
In 2023, he was appointed director general of the Defense Ministry, where he served until February.
Lazar Berman contributed to this report.
