January 21, 2025
Good evening,
Today marks the 473rd day of the war—a long war that requires great sacrifices from us, but has also yielded very significant achievements for our future. The IDF is still engaged in combat in the different arenas.
We are currently realizing one of the war’s most important goals - the return of the hostages. As I’ve witnessed during my visits, our forces are highly determined and fully aware of their mission—to dismantle Hamas, its regime, and its capabilities; to bring the hostages back, and to ensure the safe return of Israel’s citizens to their homes. Even in distant arenas, the IDF continues to operate with full force.
I am speaking to you tonight from near Mefalsim, a site where many were murdered, and others were abducted. Here, I choose to address the current situation and to speak about myself.
The day someone assumes the mantle of command of the Israel Defense Forces, they take a responsibility on their shoulders that has no expiration date. On the first day of the war, during the General Staff situational assessment, I took full responsibility—loudly and clearly—for the IDF’s failure to protect civilians on Simchat Torah 5784. I did the same publicly on the sixth day of the war. The central mission of the IDF is to defend the citizens of this country. We failed in that. The consequences of that horrific day are something I have carried ever since - and will continue to carry for the rest of my life.
Throughout my service in the IDF, I was taught that an operation concludes only when the mission is fully accomplished. An operation concludes when everyone has returned. An operation concludes after an inquiry. The purpose of the IDF’s inquiries is to learn—whether the mission was a failure or a success. From the very start of this war, we initiated an unprecedented process of inquiry during active combat. Balancing the commanders' focus on the ongoing fight with the need for deep, fact-driven, and honest inquiries required an extended process. October 7th was a day of widespread and complex combat. The desire of the bereaved families to uncover the truth as quickly as possible is both understood and deeply respected by us.
The IDF must provide honest answers and inquiries: high quality, thorough, and fully transparent. We owe this to the fallen, the hostages, their families, and the communities of the western Negev. These inquiries are essential for learning how to better protect Israel’s citizens in the future. I will present the complete findings to the Minister of Defense and, as much as possible, to the citizens of Israel. Above all, we will integrate those lessons into the IDF to enhance and strengthen our capabilities.
I can confidently say already—no one hid information. No one knew what was about to happen. No one aided the enemy in executing its cruelty. Such claims are untrue and unjustly harm dedicated service members who have worked tirelessly for the nation’s security and fully understand their responsibility given the outcomes.
Once the IDF inquiries are completed, we will have a clearer understanding of what happened, why it occurred, and how to address it. The military’s inquiry is focused solely on the IDF and does not encompass the broader factors that could prevent similar events in the future. A commission of inquiry or any other external body can investigate and examine and will receive full transparency from the IDF.
I take responsibility for the IDF’s failure. I also take responsibility for its achievements. I’ll say this upfront—I wish these achievements hadn’t been necessary, and no achievement can ever reverse the immense pain, sorrow, and loss caused since the first day of the war.
A military is built for crises—it is tested by its ability to prevent them and to confront unexpected, difficult situations when they arise. We failed in prevention and protection. IDF soldiers, commanders, security forces, and brave civilians operated heroically to minimize the damage, halt the attacks, and push back. We entered a difficult war, with one arena after another opening. Under my command, alongside the General Staff and together with the political echelon, the IDF has achieved numerous accomplishments during this war. The IDF planned and the IDF implemented. The Middle East has changed. Our threat map has been entirely redrawn. New opportunities have opened up, and we must constantly measure the risks. Hezbollah has suffered a decisive defeat. Most of its leadership has been eliminated; we eliminated over 4,000 terrorist operatives, including the majority of Hezbollah’s senior chain of command with Hassan Nasrallah at its head. These outcomes are the result of precise planning, initiative, and bold action across land, air, sea, and with supporting capabilities.
This is also the product of exceptional intelligence. The same intelligence personnel who failed and felt so on October 7th are the ones who provided the intelligence that enabled these successes. Hezbollah’s diminished power in Lebanon is clear, and it is our duty to maintain this advantage in the future.
Hamas’ military wing has been severely damaged. Most of the organization’s leadership has been killed, including its head Yahya Sinwar, as well as senior figures in its military wing, including its head Mohammed Deif. The IDF has eliminated nearly 20,000 Hamas terrorist operatives. However, we have still not brought back all the hostages, and we still have missions to complete against Hamas' governance and its remaining guerrilla and terror capabilities. We remain steadfast in our resolve to carry this out and defeat them.
In the fight against terrorism, both civilians and soldiers were killed in Judea and Samaria over the past year. Since the start of the war, we killed 794 terrorists in this arena. In most cases, we thwarted the threat in advance before the terrorists could reach Israeli citizens.
This extensive effort has been conducted in close partnership with the Israel Security Agency, a high-quality organization that works alongside us with shared responsibility and mutual learning. Without our proactive defensive and offensive measures, terrorism in Judea and Samaria could have been far worse.
For the first time in this war, we fought directly with Iran.
We struck its proxies in the region—Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iranian assets in Syria. Syria has changed. Through swift defensive maneuvers and aerial strikes targeting the axis, we completely changed the scope of the future threat from Syria.
We conducted strikes in Iran following barrages of rockets and drones launched at Israel. Over the course of two nights, the IAF carried out operations, based on highly precise intelligence and bold strategic partnerships, along with defensive measures that significantly minimized damage. No one was killed in these attacks, very few were injured, and we sustained limited damage to property. This occurred despite the hundreds of tons of explosives launched at the State of Israel. We knew exactly where we were targeting and why; our munitions hit their marks with precision, destroying every intended target. Today, Iran knows our strength, understands our power, and will feel the weight of our arm when required.
These achievements of the IDF place Israel in a different light both regionally and globally, both in relation to October 7th and before the war. These accomplishments are of immense importance, and it is crucial that we preserve them in the guiding principles of our future operations. While these achievements will never mitigate the grief and pain of loss, they will help lay the foundation for a better future for us all.
The transition from painful failure to these accomplishments was fraught with challenges and required immense strength and talent. I am proud of the IDF for its recovery, its path forward, and its results. I am proud of our commanders, reservists, career soldiers, soldiers in regular service, and civilian workers.
I have no desire to hang onto my position. From a moral standpoint, it is not right that my term be a full one, and I have said so before. The time for decisions is now. For the past 473 days, I have dedicated myself fully to this war—to dismantle Hamas, to bring back the hostages, and to ensure the safe return of residents in the western Negev and the north to their homes. Today, I informed the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense of my intention to fulfill my responsibility and conclude my service on March 6th of this year. Until then, we will properly complete all inquiries and urgent missions, and I will ensure the orderly and responsible transfer of command to my successor.
Soon, I will conclude 40 years of military service. Throughout this time, the needs of the State of Israel and the IDF have always taken precedence over my own. Even now, that remains the case. I made this decision long ago, and now, as the IDF holds the upper hand in all arenas of combat, and another hostage-return agreement is underway, the time is ripe. I chose to delay this announcement by a few weeks, believing it inappropriate to focus on myself while the fate of the hostages was uncertain, their families anxiously waiting, and the operations in Gaza claiming the lives of my soldiers. I want to assure the hostages' families that we are doing everything possible. I embrace the bereaved families and salute the wounded, supporting them on their journey of recovery.
Throughout this war, since October 7th, I have faced the failure head-on every day. I have not avoided responsibility and I have not forgotten for a moment that I am the commander who sent subordinates into battles from which they did not return, to positions from which they were abducted.
I bow my head in memory of the civilians we could not save, our comrades in the Rapid Response Teams, security forces, and the IDF soldiers—men and women, in reserves and active duty—who stood their ground and did not abandon their posts.
It was both my duty and also my privilege, as Commander of the Israel Defense Forces, to face failure and turn it into a lever for progress, not a weight dragging us down—to lead the IDF and the citizens of Israel to a new and safer reality for many years to come.
"And these are the names of the children of Israel" was in the Torah portion of this past Shabbat. These are the names we will never forget—the names of those who are no longer with us, and those we await. May they all return to us.
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