Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israeli Katz have agreed on the appointment of Defence Ministry Director General Eyal Zamir as the next chief of staff of the military, according to Reuters.

The announcement by the prime minister’s office was made late last night and comes nearly two weeks after current military chief Herzi Halevi said he was stepping down.

Eyal Zamir, a retired major general who served in the Israeli military for 28 years, would be taking over a military that has waged 15 months of war in Gaza, while also fighting in Lebanon and confronting airstrikes launched from Iran, Iraq and Yemen.

Zamir served as the deputy chief of staff of the military from 2018 until 2021, according to the military’s website. He also once headed southern command, a regional command that is responsible for military operations and defence, including the Gaza border, and was earlier a military secretary to Netanyahu.