IDF selects next chief of staff to replace Halevi

JERUSALEM – On Saturday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz tapped Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir to be the Israel Defense Forces’ next chief of staff.

He is set to take up his post on March 6, becoming the IDF’s 24th chief of staff, following the incumbent Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi’s resignation in the wake of the intelligence failures on Oct. 7, 2023.

This is Eyal Zamir, the incoming 24th chief of staff of the IDF. Let’s all wish him a lot of good luck in his new position! pic.twitter.com/eNnEKifLy9

— Uri Kurlianchik (@VerminusM) February 1, 2025

Zamir, 59, who was considered one of the front-runners for the post, is the current director general of the Defense Ministry, will be the first IDF chief to come out of the Armored Corps since David (Dado) Elazar in the 1970s, according to the Jewish News Syndicate. Zamir, however, becomes the first IDF chief of staff to commence his military career in the Armored Corps.

It must be hoped Zamir’s tenure is more successful than both his immediate predecessor Halevi, and Elazar, who despite being a talented general, was found accountable by the Agranat Commission in 1974 for the IDF’s lack of preparedness ahead of the Yom Kippur War. These two examples highlight how costly allowing the military to get into such a state – whether they were directly responsible for it or not – is for a chief of staff.

Previously, Zamir served as deputy chief of staff from 2018 to 2021, and before that, he led the Southern Command from 2015 to 2018. Prior to that, he was Netanyahu’s military secretary.

Netanyahu and Katz’s choice is not a rubber stamp, Zamir’s appointment – like the chief of police or the governorship of the Bank of Israel – must be vetted by the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee. Following progress through that body, a nominee is confirmed via a cabinet vote.

Halevi, who had long been expected to resign when the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon had wound down somewhat – although it could pick up again if the fragile ceasefires are broken – had only served around half of the usual four-year chief of staff term. However, he congratulated his successor.

“I have known Eyal for many years, and I am sure that he will lead the IDF forward in the face of the expected challenges and wish him great success,” Halevi said in a statement Saturday.

“In the coming weeks, we will complete a professional and high-quality handover,” he added.

With Halevi’s deputy Maj. Gen. Amir Baram standing down at the end of February, it is not immediately clear who Zamir’s number two will be. Zamir will be responsible for appointing numerous commanders, both as a result of appointments being on hold during the Swords of Iron war, and because several senior generals are expected to follow Halevi’s lead and resign following the failures of Oct. 7.

As with every major decision to affect Israel, there have been proponents for Zamir’s elevation to chief of staff, while others have opposed it, in favor of others such as Maj. Gen. David Zini, who currently has the unenviable task of attempting to recruit ultra-Orthodox soldiers into the IDF.

In Zamir’s favor is his hard-line stance on the Iranian nuclear threat, as well as his spearheading of efforts to greatly ramp up domestic weapons production assuaging fears there was an over reliance on foreign imports.