The unrest in the northern arena against Hezbollah and the southern against Hamas, the IDF investigations nearing completion, and political and security criticism towards the current Chief of Staff, only intensified the discourse within the security system regarding the selection of the 24th Chief of Staff who would replace Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi.
The prominent candidates were Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Maj. Gen. Uri Gordin, and Maj. Gen. Amir Baram. A senior figure in the security establishment said that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had a "good and trust-based relationship" with the director-general of his ministry Zamir who previously served as the military secretary to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
However, Gallant refrained from approving the appointment of a person with very close ties to the prime minister. Some claim that this is because his political survival depended on his relationship with the Chief of Staff Halevi and leading a policy that, in many respects, clashed with Netanyahu's.
On the other hand, another security figure argued that Netanyahu was very eager to appoint Zamir - but to advance the process, he would need to dismiss Gallant from his position.
Some at the IDF command claimed that Halevi was undecided about resigning - as long as there was no agreement between Netanyahu and Gallant on the identity of the next chief of staff, there was no clear path for him. Another reason was that the findings of the military investigations had not been presented at the political level.
IDF leadership transition
Moreover, the top echelons of the IDF estimated that Halevi had essentially become Gallant's "political shield" in his role as deputy.
Meanwhile, within the security establishment, there were calls for Gallant to focus on the "day after Halevi" now and appoint reserve generals who could assist in the IDF's recovery. These included Major General Nitzan Alon, Major General Itzik Turgeman, Major General Lior Carmeli, and others.
Other positions awaiting a new appointment included the head of the Operations Directorate in the Operations Branch - with the leading candidate being Brigadier General Israel Shomer, currently commanding the 8200 Unit, while the leading candidate for his position was Brigadier General J., who served as Head of the Operations Branch in the Operations Directorate.
Also, the appointment of the next commander of the Gaza Division, replacing Brigadier General Avi Rosenfeld, was pending, with the positions of the Chief of Staff and the Military Advocate General still unclear since the investigation into the commander of Brigade 99, Brigadier General Barak Hiram, who was selected to appointed the position before October 7, performance on that day not yet concluded.
Furthermore, criticism towards the intended Chief of Staff designate, Colonel Shlomi Binder, remained, and there was concern within the IDF that the High Court of Justice would rebuke the IDF and prevent the appointment against the backdrop of criticism over the events of the war.
Therefore, no date was set for the end of the current Chief of Staff's tenure, Major General Aharon Haliva.