Israel's mission against Hamas 'not yet complete', says new military chief

Lt Gen Eyal Zamir says his country 'has achieved tangible accomplishments on the battlefield'

Israel's new military leader Lt Gen Eyal Zamir has previously backed a tough stance against Iran. Reuters

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Israel's new army chief Lt Gen Eyal Zamir said that the mission to defeat Hamas in Gaza “is not yet complete”, as he was sworn in on Wednesday.

Lt Gen Zamir said the Israeli military “has achieved tangible accomplishments on the battlefield. We have won battles in Gaza and Lebanon, and have attacked in Yemen and Iran.

“Although the bloody Hamas terrorist organisation has suffered a heavy blow, it has not yet been defeated. The mission is not yet complete.”

Fighting in Gaza has been halted since January under a truce brokered by Qatar and Egypt and supported by the US that has allowed the exchange of 33 Israeli hostages for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees. Five Thai hostages were also released, under a separate deal.

The war on Lebanon, which broke out after Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces launched strikes on Israel in support of its Palestinian allies, has also been halted under a separate ceasefire agreement.

Speaking before Lt Gen Zamir at the inauguration ceremony at military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told him that Israel is “determined” to achieve victory in the multi-front war that began with Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack.

“A very heavy responsibility rests on your shoulders, the results of the war will have significance for generations, we are determined to achieve … victory,” Mr Netanyahu said.

Lt Gen Zamir replaces Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, who resigned as chief of staff after admitting he failed to fulfil his mandate.

Lt Gen Halevi led the military during the Israeli war on Gaza that killed almost 48,400 Palestinians and destroyed much of the enclave, leaving most of the population sheltering in tents or bombed-out buildings.

But he announced in January, soon after the Gaza ceasefire deal was agreed, that he would step down from his command, accepting responsibility for the military's patchy and unco-ordinated response to the October 7 attack.

Lt Gen Zamir, 59, takes over at a sensitive time in Israel's war on Gaza, with the ceasefire that took effect on January 19 hanging in the balance.

Announcing his appointment last month, Mr Netanyahu said he had high hopes that Lt Gen Zamir would help achieve Israel's goal of “absolute victory” against Hamas.

The new army chief will also take over operations in the occupied West Bank, where the military has deployed tanks in recent weeks for the first time in 20 years.

His appointment also comes at a time of high tension between Israel and Iran, which backs groups opposed to the Israelis.

Lt Gen Zamir wrote in a 2022 policy paper for the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy think tank that Israel needed to adopt a tougher approach in order to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Pushing for greater co-operation with the US against what he called the “Iran axis”, Lt Gen Zamir advocated “offensive action” to guarantee success. His position on Iran mirrors that of Mr Netanyahu, who recently said that Israel plans to “finish the job against Iran's terror axis”.

Lt Gen Zamir, who led key operations during the second Palestinian intifada between 2000 and 2005, served as Mr Netanyahu's military secretary from 2012 to 2015. He is also the founder of right-wing think tank the Israel Defence and Security Forum.