Israel appoints new Army chief amid ongoing 42-day Gaza truce

In a statement, President Benjamin Netanyahu said: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz have agreed on the appointment of Maj.-Gen. (Res.) Eyal Zamir as the next IDF Chief-of-Staff."

Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi resgined last month.

The new army chief is scheduled to take up the responsibility on March 6.

Herzi Halevi congratulated Eyal Zamir on the appointment.

“I have known Eyal for many years, and I am sure that he will lead the IDF forward in the face of the expected challenges and wish him great success,” Halevi said in a statement Saturday as quoted by The Times of Israel.

“In the coming weeks, we will complete a professional and high-quality handover,” he added.

Zamir, once he enters the role, will be responsible for appointing numerous commanders, both because appointments of senior officers have been on hold, and because several top generals are expected to resign over October 7, following in Halevi’s footsteps, The Time of Israel reported.

The appointment was made at a time when a 42-day truce is being observed between Israel and Hamas.

Several hostages have been released by Hamas since the truce began on January 19 in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

Hamas on Saturday released three more Israeli hostages who were abducted during the October 7, 2023 attacks amid the ongoing ceasefire that came into effect on January 19.

They were held in captivity for 484 days.

Ofer Calderon, 54, and Yarden Bibas, 35, were first released to the International Red Cross representatives in south Gaza’s Khan Younis area.

Later, Keith Siegel, 65, was handed over at the Gaza City port.

Unlike Thursday when chaos broke out during the release of three Israeli and five Thai hostages, Saturday's action was performed in a more controlled manner.