IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir issued an unusually sharp statement Monday after Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered a re-examination of an internal military review and froze senior IDF appointments. Katz said the freeze would remain in place and that he “will not argue through the media.”
Zamir said he learned from media reports about Katz’s intention to reassess the findings of the committee led by retired Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman—formed by Katz himself at the start of his tenure to review the IDF's internal investigations into the failures of the October 7 terrorist attack—while Zamir was overseeing a surprise General Staff drill in the Golan Heights.
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Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir
(Photo: IDF, Menahem Kahana/AFP, Hani Alshaer/AFP)
“The decision to cast doubt on a report written over seven months by 12 generals and brigadier generals, approved by the chief of staff and presented to the minister personally, raises serious questions,” Zamir said. He stressed that the Turgeman committee’s work “was defined from the outset for the use of the chief of staff, to examine the quality of IDF investigations and lessons learned, and not for political purposes.”
Zamir said the panel reviewed “hundreds of testimonies” and carried out a thorough professional process. A new 30-day review by the Defense Ministry comptroller, he said, “is not substantive.” He added that Katz had already been told that one of Zamir’s first decisions after receiving the report was to order an in-depth review of the so-called Jericho Wall plan, referring to a Hamas attack outline the IDF had obtained years earlier.
“The IDF is the only body in the country that investigated itself thoroughly over its failures and took responsibility,” Zamir said. “If any further examination is needed, it must be done by an external, independent committee that can review the multi-layered processes leading up to the failures of October 7, including the interface between the military and political echelons.”
On the matter of personal recommendations, Zamir said they involve “internal command decisions within the IDF that do not require approval.” He rejected suggestions that the criteria for such decisions were uneven. “The implication that the standards—examined with utmost care—were not equal is unfounded, especially given the time and deliberation invested,” he said.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir makes a surprise General Staff drill in the Golan Heights
(Video: IDF)
Zamir warned that extending the freeze on promotions by another month “harms the IDF’s ability to prepare for upcoming challenges.” He said he would continue conducting personnel discussions and submit them for ministerial approval as required. “We continue to operate across all fronts,” he said, noting that in the past two days the IDF killed Hezbollah’s military chief and dozens of terrorists in Gaza. He also pointed to Monday’s surprise large-scale drill in the Golan Heights as part of the IDF’s process of implementing lessons, restoring readiness and strengthening operational capabilities.
Katz responded that he respects the chief of staff but noted that Zamir “is subordinate to the prime minister, the defense minister and the government of Israel.” He said the comptroller would submit his conclusions within 30 days, “and only then will I form my decisions on appointments, as required by my role and authority.”
Earlier Monday, Katz said he had directed Defense Ministry Comptroller Brig. Gen. (res.) Yair Volanski to conduct an in-depth review of the Turgeman report. Katz, who also learned via the media about Zamir's intention to issue personal consequences for commanders linked to the failures of October 7, said the comptroller would examine whether additional areas require investigation beyond those reviewed by the committee— including the Jericho Wall plan— and whether certain inquiries the committee marked as incomplete should be finished.
Katz said Volanski would also recommend clear, uniform criteria for personal accountability. He emphasized that his freeze on promoting officers who served in the Southern Command during the October 7 attack “remains in force,” and clarified that the issue of appointing a military attaché to Washington “is unrelated and not grounds for delaying any IDF appointment.”