The newly appointed head of the Israeli General Staff, Eyal Zamir, declared 2025 the year of the war, which will focus on the Gaza Strip and Iran. He stressed that his task is to lead the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to victory. The words of the military commander, who is considered close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, came at a time when the ceasefire regime in the Gaza Strip is bursting at the seams. Due to the impasse in the dialogue on the release of Israeli hostages, the administration of US President Donald Trump has entered into its own direct negotiations with the Hamas movement.
Accepting the powers of the head of the General Staff, Zamir stated that his task in his new position is to lead the IDF to victory. “The Israel Defense Forces have achieved impressive successes on the battlefield,” the military commander noted. “We won the battles in Gaza and Lebanon, we struck far away in Yemen and Iran. The Hamas group has been hit hard, but it has not yet been defeated. The mission is not completed yet.” According to Zamir, in response to the violence that occurred during the invasion of Israel by Palestinian militants on October 7, 2023, the Jewish state will retaliate “violently and indomitably.” “We are surrounded by cruel, rude and deadly enemies who seek to destroy us,” he recalled, adding that threats must be nipped in the bud.
Having started his work, Zamir began an urgent reorganization of the IDF. In particular, he announced the upcoming replacement of 60 brigadier generals and colonels. This is partly due to the need to take responsibility for the tragedy of October 7. Zamir’s predecessor, Herzi Halevi– openly stated that his departure was a necessary reaction to the consequences of Black Saturday. “This is my watch, and I take responsibility,” Halevi said. But another reason for the personnel shake–up is to strengthen the loyalty of the generals. Netanyahu has been in conflict with his military leaders for a long time because they criticize him for his willingness to continue the war on different fronts just for the sake of the stability of the ruling coalition.
Haaretz notes that Zamir’s appointment comes at a critical moment for Israel. “Zamir takes command of the army when Netanyahu is busy trying to disrupt a deal with Hamas on the release of hostages in order to resume a high–intensity war,” the Israeli newspaper draws attention. “There are dangerous conversations about opening the gates of hell, including through the mouth of Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, who landed in his position in order to undermine the independence of the army and politicize its ranks.”
Zamir himself is considered a protege of Netanyahu: from 2012 to 2015, he served as the politician’s military secretary. And recently, the Prime Minister has quite openly tried to push for his appointment as head of the General Staff several times, but without success.
The fact that the negotiations around Gaza in recent weeks have not inspired hope for progress was proved by the opening of direct consultations between the United States and Hamas. The White House openly informed about them the day before. As part of these consultations, we are talking about the release of a large number of hostages, as well as reaching an agreement on a more lasting ceasefire. The other day, officials in the Netanyahu government announced their readiness to resume hostilities if the Palestinian militants did not agree to extend the first stage of the peace deal – that is, in fact, to extend humanitarian exchanges (Israeli prisoners in exchange for the release of Palestinian criminals) at the same pace.
On social media, Trump openly threatened Hamas: “Release all the hostages now, not later, and immediately return the bodies of all the people you killed, otherwise you are finished.” He promised that he would send Israel all the necessary assistance “to finish the job.” “No member of Hamas will be safe if you don’t do what I say,” the American leader stressed. – This is the last warning! As for the leadership (the top of the Palestinian group. – “NG”), now is the time to leave Gaza while you still have a chance. I also appeal to the people of Gaza: you have a wonderful future ahead of you, but not if you are holding hostages.”
Now the United States and Israel are sending separate signals to Iran, which defiantly refuses to negotiate on the nuclear issue. This week, the air forces of the two allies conducted joint exercises, during which the pilots “practiced operational interaction between the two armies in order to enhance their ability to counter various regional threats.” Israeli F-15 and F-35 fighter jets participated in the maneuvers, along with an American B-52 strategic bomber. “The purpose of the exercises was to strengthen and maintain long-standing cooperation between the armed forces, as well as to expand interaction and form integrated capabilities for various scenarios,” the IDF said.
The exercises were interpreted in the region as nothing more than the preparation of the Israeli military for a possible strike on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, a scenario that the Jewish state has been trying to persuade the Trump administration to recently, appealing to the fact that the Iranian air defense system is now in the most vulnerable position.
