Eyal Zamir takes over as Israel’s new military chief
Former tank commander Eyal Zamir will on Wednesday become the new chief of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Previously director of the defence ministry, Zamir will replace outgoing chief of staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halev, who resigned admitting he failed to fulfil his mandate, News.Az reports, citing AFP.
Zamir, 59, is being sworn in at a sensitive time in Israel's war with Hamas, with the ceasefire that took effect on January 19 hanging in the balance.
Announcing his appointment last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had high hopes that Zamir would help achieve Israel's goal of "absolute victory" against Hamas.
Zamir will also take over operations in the occupied West Bank, where the military has deployed tanks in recent weeks for the first time in 20 years.
His appointment also comes at a moment of high tension for Israel with its arch-foe Iran.
Zamir wrote in a 2022 policy paper for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy that Israel needed to adopt a tougher approach in order to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Zamir, who led key operations during the second Palestinian intifada or uprising, served as Netanyahu's military secretary from 2012 to 2015.
He is the founder of the right-wing think tank Israel Defence and Security Forum .
In contrast to Halevi, who avoided the spotlight, Zamir comes across as a powerful figure.
At a defence ministry event a day after his appointment, Zamir, a father of three, was quoted as saying that 2025 would be "a year of continued fighting".
"The war has demonstrated that we must be self-reliant," he said.
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