Eyal Zamir, the 24th Chief of Staff of the IDF, assumed his duties this afternoon (Wednesday).
Zamir receives a disbanded general staff, with a number of generals who have already announced that they are retiring from the IDF - including: the commander of the Southern Command, the head of the Operations Division, and the head of the Strategy Division.
Four more generals with question marks are on the table - headed by the head of Intelligence, the commander of the Air Force, and the coordinator of government activities in the territories.
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According to a report by Noam Amir, Channel 14's military correspondent, the Chief of Staff has already formulated a large part of the list of his new General Staff, and in the coming days he will confirm the appointments with Defense Minister Yisrael Katz.
Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir faces a series of significant challenges, but the main one in the first phase is winning the war in Gaza, defeating Hamas, returning all the hostages, and preparing for prolonged military control if no alternative is found.
He will only be able to achieve these through heavy military pressure and a return to a more aggressive war in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Channel 14 report, in closed-door talks, Zamir told his associates: "I am not opposed to military control of the Gaza Strip. Humanitarian aid should be taken from the hands of the Hamas terrorist organization. I will recommend to the political echelon that the Palestinian Authority will not be a part of the next day in Gaza.".
Amir notes that the second significant challenge is Iran. Neutralizing the octopus head of the Shiite axis with a focus on eliminating the Iranian nuclear project.
Doron Kadosh, the military correspondent for Galts, wrote about Chief of Staff Zamir's first decisions:
- Reexamination of Halevi's 7/10 investigations: Chief of Staff Zamir is establishing a team to examine the investigations, led by Maj. Gen. (retd.) Sami Turgeman. The team will be required to submit its conclusions in the coming months, and will also include former Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. (retd.) Amikam Norkin and former Navy Commander Maj. Gen. (retd.) Eli Sharvit.
- The Strategy and Iran Department, established by former Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, will be disbanded in the coming month, and its bodies will be transferred to other departments in the IDF.
- The Chief of Staff ordered the establishment of an additional tank brigade, and to examine the establishment of an additional infantry brigade.
- Reestablishment of the Armored Division, which was disbanded during the tenure of the previous Chief of Staff, Aviv Kochavi. Consideration will be given to making one of the Divisions ultra-Orthodox.
