Trending 
Israel’s newly appointed Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, has declared 2025 the “year of war” with a focus on Gaza and Iran, according to Israeli media reports.
Shortly after succeeding General Herzi Halevi as head of the Israeli occupation army on Wednesday, Zamir made several significant announcements. These included the creation of an external panel of experts to reassess military probes into the events of October 7, 2023, the closure of the army’s Iran directorate, and the formation of a new tank brigade.
Zamir appointed Major General Yaniv Asor as the next head of the Southern Command, replacing Major General Yaron Finkelman, who resigned following the October 7 incident.
He also named Brigadier General Itzik Cohen as the new head of the Operations Directorate, promoting him to major general.
Cohen led the ground invasion of Gaza for 15 months and will replace Major General Oded Basiuk, who also resigned.
The newly appointed army chief emphasised the importance of returning Israeli captives from Gaza, calling it a moral duty, and vowed to take action to bring all captives home.
Zamir has displayed photos of the captives in his office until they are returned.
