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Selection Process for Next IDF Chief Looks to Be Rapid

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz speaks during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, at UN headquarters in New York, US, March 11, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/David ‘Dee’ Delgado

JNS.orgAs Defense Minister Israel Katz prepares to select the next chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, he began meeting the leading candidates on Jan. 26, after incumbent Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said that he will step down on March 6.

Katz is interviewing three contenders to lead the military: the current (and outgoing) deputy chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Amir Baram; the director general of the Defense Ministry, Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir; and Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai, the former head of the Ground Forces Command.

The defense minister has pledged to conduct an orderly and rapid selection process to find a chief of staff who will prepare the military for the “many security challenges faced by the State of Israel at this time.”

Any new chief of staff will have the titanic double mission of rehabilitating and restructuring the IDF after the catastrophic Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and 15 months of intensive, multi-front warfare, coupled with the very real prospect of additional combat near and far.

Katz has also indicated that he expects officers associated with intelligence or operational errors might step aside.

• Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir, while at the helm of the Defense Ministry, has spearheaded efforts over the past year to greatly ramp up domestic weapons production to reduce reliance on imports, working with local defense companies to do this.

He previously served as deputy chief of staff (2018 to 2021), and before that, he led the IDF Southern Command from 2015 to 2018. During that time, he helped formulate war plans focused on Hamas and contemplated scenarios in which the terror faction might be replaced in Gaza, though subsequent Southern Command leaders did not properly update these plans.

Zamir’s term as director general of the Defense Ministry granted him familiarity with both the political and operational dimensions of Israeli defense efforts. Many observers view him as the frontrunner.

• Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai is a highly experienced and well regarded IDF commander. During his career, he commanded several notable formations, including the Golani Brigade, the Judea and Samaria Division, the Home Front Command, the Central Command and, most recently, the Ground Forces, where he balanced force build-up needs with the demands of ongoing multi-front warfare. Yadai’s background suggests that he excelled at coordinating prolonged large-scale operations under pressure.

• Maj. Gen. Amir Baram, the outgoing deputy chief of staff, has a rich military history, including the command of the elite Maglan Unit, the Samaria Brigade, the Paratroopers Brigade and the Northern Command.

A recent resignation letter he wrote to the chief of staff leaked, in which he requested to end his role as deputy despite the fact that the IDF is in a state of war, made the headlines for its implied criticism of the manner in which the Gaza war has been prosecuted.

Baram wrote, “The intensity of the war has decreased significantly, my ability to contribute in the current situation is limited.” This appears to be an attack on the oscillating intensity of IDF operations in Gaza.

Lt. Col. (res.) Doron Avital, former commander of the elite General Staff Reconnaissance (Sayeret Matkal) Unit, told JNS on Jan. 27 that “the IDF went through a dramatic trauma on October 7—an intense crisis that still reverberates within it.

“Nevertheless, the dramatic successes since, led by Defense Minister [Yoav] Gallant [whom Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed in early November—Y.L.] and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, indicate that even in the heart of the severe crisis, the IDF’s nerves of steel did not fail,” Avital said.

“The commanders succeeded in moving the IDF from initial shock to a successful and magnificent offensive: In the north [against Hezbollah], the offensive campaign was managed perfectly, and in the south, despite many difficulties, the IDF managed to inflict a defeat on Hamas—an enemy that based its defense on one of the most complex underground arrays any army has ever dealt with.”

He continued, “Now, after the end of the assault phase, the army stands before many tests and requires significant decisions.” These include the need for a comprehensive structure reform, but one that must be conducted “in the midst of sailing at sea,” like a ship needing repairs in the heart of the ocean.

The IDF has to ensure full operational readiness at any moment, said Avital, adding that this would be a difficult but essential challenge.

“The October 7 crisis created a new generation of commanders who experienced combat and gained significant operational experience. We must push this generation forward and let it lead,” argued Avital. “This is the time to carry out fundamental reforms, while maintaining constant operational readiness, to ensure the IDF’s future as a sharp, advanced and victorious army.”

The post Selection Process for Next IDF Chief Looks to Be Rapid first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.

Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.

“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”

GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’

Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.

“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.

“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.

“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.

After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”

RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL

Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”

Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.

“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”

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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.

People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.

“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”

Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.

On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.

Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.

On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.

“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.

Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.

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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.

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