Eyal Zamir replaced Herzi Halevi as IDF chief of staff and was promoted to lieutenant-general in a ceremony in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, which was led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and in the presence of all of the leaders of the defense establishment.
Alongside the entire IDF high command, Mossad Director David Barnea and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Ronen Bar were also in attendance, as was US Central Command chief Michael Kurilla.
Netanyahu opened the speech by thanking Kurilla, saying, “Your relationship with General Herzi Halevi was a tangible asset to our national security.
“Until a few generations ago, we were pushed from place to place like straw in the wind,” but we returned the control of our fate, and “Our history is [framed as] before the establishment of the IDF and after it. This doesn’t mean our enemies can’t attack us. We saw this on October 7, but unlike before we can” take the war to them, said the prime minister.
"חובתנו המוסרית ברורה - החזרת כולם הביתה, בכל דרך אפשרית ומהר ככל האפשר" - הרמטכ"ל ה-24, אייל זמיר, במסר למשפחות החטופים@idfonline @BringThemHome23@bringhomenow @bringhomenowjlm@forum_tikva pic.twitter.com/A8Gec86Vp1
— ערוץ כנסת (@KnessetT) March 5, 2025
Netanyahu vowed that Israel would return all of the hostages and end Hamas’s military and political rule.Turning to Zamir, he said that although he lost the race for IDF chief twice, the third time was the charm, and “the time of Zamir” is here.
He said he was very impressed by the former Defense Ministry director-general’s capabilities as his personal military secretary, particularly his ability to coordinate between the defense and political echelons.
The prime minister also complimented the new chief on his work at the ministry, his most recent position, in helping Israel become more independent in producing more of its own weaponry.
אייל זמיר בנאום הבכורה כרמטכ"ל: "חמאס חטף אמנם מכה קשה, אך עדיין לא הוכרע. המשימה טרם הושלמה"@idfonline pic.twitter.com/B8eMPhkvsg
— ערוץ כנסת (@KnessetT) March 5, 2025
Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Zamir that he would have no quiet days as he entered office, given that many aspects of the war are still in play.
“There is no alternative to being militarily proactive. If someone is coming to kill you, rise up and kill him first – this principle represents what is required from the IDF,” he said.
In his speech, Zamir said he would press for an “equal burden sharing” of serving in the IDF, in a clear reference to wanting to increase the number of haredim (ultra-Orthodox) serving in the IDF.
“Therefore,” he said, “we will act to broaden all of the parts of the population in all of the units of the IDF. The role of defending our state must be divided up equally.”
The chief said that while Torah and Jewish tradition are important, action is crucial.
This was the first time Zamir has taken a public stance not in line with the government and Netanyahu – but there are very few contrary opinions on the issue within the army.
Defense Ministry, Katz congratulate Zamir
However, he warned, Hamas is not yet fully defeated.
The ceremony was the first of the day, followed by a joint visit by Halevi and Zamir to the Western Wall and then to the national Mount Herzl Military Cemetery.
A final joint ceremony exclusively for the defense establishment, including a military band and inspection of troops, was held at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
During the last joint ceremony, the new chief carried out an extended salute, stopped to speak to six different soldiers during his inspection, and went on talking with some of them after the IDF band had finished playing.
Halevi saluted much faster and spoke to half as many soldiers, returning to his position before the band finished playing.
Israel MOD Congratulates Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir on Appointment as 24th @IDF Chief of the General Staff pic.twitter.com/auKYvn5B8s
— Ministry of Defense (@Israel_MOD) March 5, 2025
Zamir also played around a bit with some soldiers in the inspection lines, adjusting their berets over their heads.
As the two IDF chiefs departed the ceremony, they shook hands with the IDF high command members.
Halevi spent an extended period speaking to Southern Command chief Maj.-Gen. Yaron Finkelman, who has been a partner with him in a baptism of fire in handling October 7 and the Gaza invasion since then. Finkelman also announced he would resign the same day as Halevi on January 21.
Zamir spent an extended period speaking with Logistics Command chief Maj.-Gen. Michel Yanko.
On February 16, Katz announced Zamir’s appointment, which came a week after the vetting committee led by former chief justice Asher Grunis approved him.
Besides having the number one non-political role at the Defense Ministry, which has put him in control of much of Israel’s international defense relations and force buildup over the last two years, Zamir had been deputy IDF chief, Southern Command chief, and military secretary of the prime minister, three of the most prominent positions in the IDF high command.
The new chief came as a close second to Halevi in the race for IDF chief in January 2023, but that pick was made by then-defense minister Benny Gantz toward the end of an 18-month period when Netanyahu was out of power.
The only issue that could have possibly derailed Zamir was the fact that he was also a Southern Command chief, which could have allowed some to try to tar him with the October 7 failure.
However, he was in that role from 2015 to 2018 – five years before the Hamas invasion – and with the three other commanders who successively filled the position, separating him from the failure.
Also, the IDF probes have concluded that many of the worst failures relating to missing the coming Hamas invasion came between 2021-2023.
Zamir is somewhat unusual for an IDF chief given that his earlier military background is more in tank command than in traditional paratrooper and special forces infantry units, but his top posts in the later years of his resume made him a favorite from the start of the race.
Zamir issued his first IDF wider order as the new chief late Wednesday night, stating, “From here on, we turn in one direction – victory and defeating the enemy! This is our mission, and this is our goal.”•