Eyal Zamir was sworn in as the 24th IDF Chief of Staff in a ceremony at the military headquarter at Tel Aviv on Wednesday, vowing to lead the country to “victory” over its enemies. 

Mr. Zamir, 59, has previously served as the IDF deputy chief of staff and was among the candidates considered to lead the military in both 2018 and 2022. 

Born in Eilat in southern Israel and with roots in both Yemen and Syria, Mr. Zamir first joined the IDF in 1984, rising in the ranks to become a tank commander. 

During the second Intifida he was promoted to lead the 7th Armored Brigade, taking part in the crackdown in Palestinian terrorists at the West Bank. 

In 2012, Mr. Zamir was appointed by Prime Minister Netanyahu to become his military secretary, a position he held until 2015. It’s widely believed that the two developed a close relationship during that time, with Mr. Netanyahu favoring him to become the next military chief. 

After leaving his duty as military secretary, Mr. Zamir was appointed head of IDF’s Southern Command in 2015, a position he served in until 2018 when he became the IDF deputy chief, serving under Aviv Kochavi. 

Mr. Zamir finally retired from the IDF in 2022 after he lost the nomination to become IDF chief to Herzl Halevi, going on to serve as the Director-General of the Defense Ministry the following year. 

On Wednesday, Mr. Zamir laid out his vision for his tenure, singling out three tasks; crushing Israel’s enemies, bringing back the remaining 59 hostages from Gaza and having all “segments of society” help defend the country. 

The latter was a thinly veiled reference to ultra-orthodox Jews who largely have been exempted from serving in the IDF since the country’s establishment in 1948, causing repeated clashes between them and secular Israelis.

Zamir said he “urges all segments of Israeli society to participate in the mitzvah (religious commandment of defending the homeland.) This is a shared responsibility.”

The new IDF chief also said that while the military achieved “impressive achievements” at Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Iran, Hamas has not yet been defeated. 

“The mission has not yet been completed,” he said. As for the hostages, Mr. Zamir said the IDF will not rest “until our brothers and sisters are returned from the tunnels of captivity — this is our moral duty. In the book of Genesis, it is written; ‘You shall live by your sword’.”

“It is our responsibility to ensure that this sword remains sharpened at all times, always ready to be wielded against any enemy, in every arena – for we are a nation that wants to,” he added. 

After concluding the ceremony at the military HQ at Tel Aviv, Mr. Zamir and outgoing IDF chief Herzl Halevi visited the Western Wall at Jerusalem, where they held recited psalms and held prayers with Rabbi of the Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, and the IDF Chief Rabbi, Brigadier General Rabbi Eyal Karim. Mr. Halevi and Mr. Zamir also placed notes between the stones of the Western Wall. 

Mr. Zamir has been praised by government and opposition lawmakers alike. “He and we face many operational and ethical challenges. I am confident that he will lead the IDF in rebuilding after the largest disaster in our history,” Opposition leader Yair Lapid said as Mr. Zamir was sworn in. 

The Democrats chief and former IDF deputy chief Yair Golan addressed Mr. Zamir, saying: “Your mission is clear: to rebuild the IDF, safeguard its independence, and prevent it from becoming a political militia.”

Mr. Zamir is expected to make wide ranging changes in the IDF as many senior commanders are associated with and bear responsibility with the failure of October 7. 

On the same day as he was sworn in, Mr. Zamir appointed Major General Yaniv Asor as next chief of the IDF Southern Command, and Brigadier General Itzik Cohen as head of the IDF Operations Directorate. 

He also ordered a re-examination of the IDF’s investigation into its own failures on October 7, to find out whether they were “conducted well and reliably and whether the correct conclusions were reached.”