The prime minister is not the military's commander in chief, and Israeli generals have challenged him before. With an election two months away, Eyal Zamir must be prepared to do so againOfer Shelah03:57 AM • August 24 2026 IDTIn September 2019, just as Israel was about to hold its second general election that year, rockets were fired from Gaza during a visit by Benjamin Netanyahyu to the southern Israeli coastal city of Ashdod. Days later it was reported that the prime minister's demand that the military launch a large-scale operation in the Strip met with opposition from then-IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, other senior officers and then-Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit: They argued that such an operation risked developing into a wider war on the eve of an election and required the approval of the security cabinet.Loading...Click the alert icon to follow topics:Israeli electionsEyal ZamirIDFIsraeli politicsBenjamin NetanyahuCommentsLoading...In the NewsIn the News: Live UpdatesWest BankEisenkotTurkey-InterpolE1 TenderNetanyahuGazaCalifornia Special ElectionHaQuizHaaretz PodcastDeadly Silwan Feud Raises Grim Question About 'Israelization' in East JerusalemAlmost Three Years After October 7, Can Nir Oz Rebuild Without Children?Poll: Arab Parties Gain Seat After Joint List Merger; Coalition Drops to 51Syria Tells Israel It Won't Limit Military Buildup in Security Deal TalksThe Mass Killing in Gaza Is Not a Series of IDF 'Exceptions' – It's the RuleRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIIDF Marks Detained Palestinians With Numbers as Northern West Bank Raids ExpandThe American Jewish Establishment Is Defending an Israel That No Longer ExistsAn Israeli Startup Is Reinventing Salmon Farming. It May Upend a Global IndustryDavid Remnick on Netanyahu, Mamdani and Israel's 'Failure to Face' GazaIsraeli Army Orders Criminal Probes Into Killing of Hind Rajab, Gaza MedicsAIPAC's Last-minute Spending Spree Fails to Block California Progressive