Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor has entered the role of chief of the IDF Southern Command, replacing Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman who is resigning over his part in the failures that led to Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.
A handover ceremony took place earlier today inside the Gaza Strip, with new IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir attending.
Asor’s previous role in the IDF was head of the Personnel Directorate.
In his speech, Asor seemingly prioritizes the defeat of Hamas over the release of the hostages.
“The first mission — the complete destruction of Hamas terrorists,” Asor says.
He adds, “Those who have sworn to annihilate us, who sought to kill, destroy, and exterminate every Jew, young and old, infant and woman, in a single day…will face the crushing force and indomitable spirit of the soldiers of the IDF.”
Asor goes on to state, “The second mission — the return of our brothers who are suffering in captivity, both the living and the fallen.”
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
