JERUSALEM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir as the new army chief on Saturday, after the resignation of top general Herzi Halevi.

"Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have agreed on the appointment of Maj.-Gen. (Res.) Eyal Zamir as the next IDF Chief-of-Staff," the premier's office said in a statement.

Zamir currently serves as the director general of the Defense Ministry, and will assume his new role once Halevi's resignation takes effect March 6.

Halevi stepped down last month, citing failures related to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.

On Jan. 21, Halevi submitted his resignation, admitting failure to fully achieve the objectives of the war in the Gaza Strip and took responsibility for the inability to prevent the attack.​​​​​​​

“My responsibility for this failure haunts me day by day, hour by hour, and will remain with me for the rest of my life,” Halevi said in a televised address.

“We failed on Oct. 7 in defense and offense,” he added.

Halevi was referring to internal investigations by the military into the failure which are expected to be concluded by late January.


In a statement, Halevi said he notified Netanyahu and Katz that he intends to resign March 6.