In a photo released by the government press office, the chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Eyal Zamir (right), at the headquarters of the Northern Command, near Israel's northern border, on March 2, 2026. ISRAELI ARMY/GOVERNMENT PRESS OFFICE VIA SIPA
Israeli Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir, one of the most powerful men in the Middle East, addressed his fellow citizens in front of the flags of Israel and the army. Dressed in his khaki uniform, he informs them in a monotone voice each time the country faces a critical period. "Citizens of Israel, my brothers and sisters," he addressed on February 28, as the bombing of Iran had just begun, "ahead of us is a significant, fateful and unprecedented campaign to destroy the capabilities of the Iranian terrorist regime."
Since March 2025, the lieutenant general, 60, has led the army during a period when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have never been so aggressive. And on every front: In Iran, which has been bombed more than 10,000 times in two weeks by Israel and the US; in Lebanon, where Hezbollah has been targeted by thousands of strikes; in Gaza, where more than half of the Palestinian enclave is occupied after being nearly destroyed. In the West Bank, where the army has been actively participating in the de facto annexation of Palestinian territory subjected to a reign of terror; and in Syria, where troops occupy a strategic area near the border.
