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2025-03-10 Israel-Palestine-Jordan
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Eternal Enemy Hamas: Israel's 'General Tank' Prepares for Gaza Blitzkrieg
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] The Israeli high command continues to undergo changes caused by the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Recently, Eyal Zamir replaced the Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Herzi Halevi, who resigned under public pressure.
"Tank General," as Zamir's opponents nicknamed him (referring to his many years of service in the armored forces, his general inflexibility and intractability), appeared at the General Staff at the right time. Tel Aviv-Hamas talks have reached a dead end, and the parliamentary "opposition of the generals" is persistently trying to blame the current cabinet for the failures. The US is looking for a balance between pressure on the enclave and cautious diplomacy.
Against this background, the new appointment in the General Staff shows that the Israeli government is ready to continue the confrontation with Hamas and is doing everything to ensure that the new operation proceeds without delay.
SUITABLE CANDIDATE
Zamir's biography is fully in line with the "spirit of the times". He is a second-generation career soldier; his grandfather fought in the ranks of the underground organization "Etzel" against the Arab-British forces in Palestine.
In addition, the future Chief of the General Staff himself fought against Hezbollah and Palestinian forces for many years and is familiar with the tactics of his opponents first-hand. As commander of the Saar mi-Golan armored brigade, he contributed to the isolation of the Gaza Strip, for which he earned a place on the list of "eternal enemies of Hamas."
In addition, the new Chief of General Staff has the advantage of having strong ties to American politicians and industrialists. Since the beginning of the conflict in Gaza, Zamir has overseen the procurement of weapons for the IDF's operational needs from the United States, and has also participated in coordinating US financial aid packages for Israel for defense purposes. He played a significant role in increasing the American "weapons ration" and lifting restrictions on the supply of MK-84 heavy aerial bombs to Tel Aviv.
It would be difficult to find a more suitable candidate among the career military to emphasize the readiness of the Israeli authorities to fight the Hamas threat “until victory.”
CLEANING UP THE GENERAL STAFF
Zamir's appointment as Chief of Staff not only serves practical purposes, but is also intended to strengthen the Israeli government's shaky influence over the army. It is no secret that Zamir has close ties to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and fully shares his views on fighting Israel's internal and external enemies.
Back in 2022, it was assumed that Zamir would take the post of Chief of General Staff - the Israeli Prime Minister had been insisting on this for quite some time. However, in order not to upset the balance of power in the coalition, he was forced to give in to then Defense Minister Benny Gantz and agree on the candidates he proposed for the Chief of General Staff and his deputies.
This later resulted in constant attempts by Gantz and his protégés in the General Staff and parliament to impose their own vision of the operation in Gaza on the prime minister’s office.
After Gantz left the military cabinet in July 2024, Netanyahu considered his obligations to his former ally completely exhausted. In this regard, it is not surprising that other candidates for the high post - Generals Amir Baram and Tamir Yadai, who were considered ideologically close to Ha-Levi and other opposition-minded military leaders (the so-called "generals' opposition") - were not appointed.
In fact, Netanyahu managed to “cleanse” the General Staff of opponents of continuing the armed struggle against Hamas, or at least push them out of decision-making.
Without a connection with those who are fighting Hamas “on the ground,” the claims of the retired members of parliament, led by Gantz, no longer sound so confident.
"LESSONS OF WAR"
The very first press conference of the "Tank General" only emphasized the upcoming changes within the Israeli armed forces. Zamir unambiguously called 2025 "the year of war with Hamas and Iran" and announced large-scale reforms in the troops.
Among other things, they decided to disband “due to low efficiency” the Department of Strategy and Iran, created by their predecessors and responsible for developing operations against Iranian proxy formations throughout the Middle East.
Along the way, the new Chief of Staff plans to form at least one new infantry and tank brigade, as well as to bring back into service the previously disbanded reconnaissance units within the armored forces (Palsari). The return of the Palsari, according to Zamir, is dictated by the "lessons of war", since most of the IDF's armored losses in Gaza occurred precisely because of weak reconnaissance.
Moreover, the initiated reshuffles among the generals, in particular the appointment of "hawks" Yaniv Asor and Itzik Cohen to the posts of commander of the Southern Command and head of the operations department, respectively, indicate that "Tank General" intends to impose a more aggressive and assertive strategy of action on the army. Both officers are known as opponents of any agreement on Gaza other than the capitulation of Hamas.
Another important step was the intention to completely revise the investigations into the "October 7 catastrophe" prepared by Ha-Levi and his subordinates. The IDF's February report, which blamed the government for military miscalculations in the initial stages of the conflict with Hamas, was declared invalid.
The new commission, the convening of which Zamir has already announced, will include high-ranking retired officials, equally distant from both Netanyahu and the key figures of the “generals’ opposition,” which will make it possible to smooth over the political component of the investigation or at least not bring it into the public arena.
TWO WAYS
So far, the course of the new Chief of Staff completely coincides with the American vision of the situation in Gaza: US President Donald Trump supports Israel’s plans to act more harshly towards Hamas and issues ultimatum after ultimatum to Gaza.
However, in parallel, the White House has entered into direct negotiations with the movement outside the existing formats. This turn of events is causing concern in Tel Aviv, no matter how much Washington prefers diplomatic means to force. Especially in conditions when its other regional allies are categorically against a tough scenario.
However, Netanyahu has taken precautions against this eventuality as well. The Israeli army is gathering strength for a decisive attack. And even in the event of a “disengagement” with the US, Zamir’s connections should help maintain the previous volumes of military supplies for some time and provide fuel for the blitzkrieg in Gaza.
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Posted by badanov 2025-03-10 00:00||
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