Israel SitRep: March 5, 2025

Today’s Issue: | Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir Replaces Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi as IDF Chief of Staff | IAF Eliminates Hezbollah Radwan Force Naval Commander; Radwan Force Lost 31 Senior Commanders During War | Prices Rising in Gaza After Israel Cuts Off Aid to Pressure Hamas | Shin Bet October 7 Investigation Findings: Information-Processing Failures, Lack of Human Intelligence | Latest FDD Analysis

Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir Replaces Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi as IDF Chief of Staff: On Wednesday, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir became the IDF’s 24th chief of staff, replacing Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi. In a ceremony marking his induction, Zamir stated, “This is a war for survival. We will continue the campaign to bring our hostages home and to achieve decisive victory. The mission before me is clear: to lead the IDF to victory.” Addressing the hostage issue, Zamir said that “our moral duty is clear — to bring them all home, by every possible means, and as quickly as possible.” He also referred to the issue of drafting the ultra-Orthodox, stating that “the IDF’s strength lies in its unity, its values, its diversity, and in the shared burden of service,” and called on “all parts of Israeli society to take part in the sacred duty of defending our homeland.” Defense Minister Israel Katz, speaking at the ceremony, noted, “The security challenges around us do not leave the new chief of staff 100 minutes of grace,” and added: “In fact, Eyal, you don’t have even one minute of grace.”

IAF Eliminates Hezbollah Radwan Force Naval Commander; Radwan Force Lost 31 Senior Commanders During War: On Tuesday, an Israeli Air Force airstrike in the Qana region of southern Lebanon eliminated Khader Sayed Hashem, commander of the naval forces of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, who the IDF says played a significant role in smuggling weapons to Hezbollah by sea and in planning naval attacks against Israel, including during the ceasefire. The Alma Research and Education Center notes that the Radwan Force had six areas of operation in southern Lebanon: two in the eastern sector (Khiam and Chebaa-Mount Dov); two in the central sector (Hajir and Bint Jbeil); and two in the western sector (Qana and the coast). The commanders of all six areas were killed during the war, as were some of their replacements. The Radwan Force lost 31 senior commanders, hundreds of operatives, and much of its military infrastructure during the war, and is now trying to rebuild. Alma’s assessment is that at this time, the Radwan Force is able to conduct targeted operations but not a large-scale invasion of Israel of the kind that Hezbollah was originally planning.

Prices Rising in Gaza After Israel Cuts Off Aid to Pressure Hamas: On Wednesday, Nurit Yohanan, Palestinian affairs correspondent for Israel’s Kan News, reported on rising food prices in Gaza four days after Israel closed the crossings into the strip and accused Hamas of “abusing the Gazan population that is trying to receive the aid” and “turning the humanitarian aid into a budget for terrorism directed against us.” Although defense officials estimate that Hamas has enough food for several months, prices in Gaza are already rising. A 25-kilogram bag of flour (55 pounds) has increased in price from 15 to 100 shekels (about $4-$28) and a kilogram of sugar rose first from six shekels ($1.70) to 10 shekels ($2.75) and then to 14 shekels ($3.85). Fruit and vegetable prices rose by a few shekels. Yohanan says that according to a Gaza resident she spoke with, a kilogram of cucumbers now costs 30 shekels ($8.30), and a kilogram of potatoes costs 33 ($9.10). Police have been patrolling markets in Gaza in order to ensure that prices are high, and the Hamas Interior Ministry announced today that eight merchants have been arrested for “exploiting the needs of Gaza’s citizens in order to raise prices.”

Shin Bet October 7 Investigation Findings: Information-Processing Failures, Lack of Human Intelligence: On Tuesday, Israeli media outlet Israel Hayom published the highlights of the findings of the Shin Bet’s investigation into the events of October 7. These include a failure to correctly process information about the Hamas invasion plan even though as early as 2018, the Shin Bet was in possession of such information; a lack of human intelligence from Gaza; an overestimation of the capabilities of IDF troops and of the Gaza barrier; poor handling of warning signs — signs appearing in summer 2023 were not interpreted as a threat, and even on the night before the attack, information distributed around 3:00 a.m. was not based on a clear understanding of the scope of the threat; the lack of a clear division of responsibilities within the IDF; and a failure to adopt a concept for thwarting Hamas suited to an enemy that behaves like an army rather than a terrorist organization.

Latest FDD Analysis:

Today at 8:30am (ET): “FDD Morning Brief,” featuring Jonathan Schanzer and Wendy Sachs, FDD Event

Live at 2:00pm ET: “Bridging the Gap: Turkey Between East and West,” Jonathan Schanzer, Testimony for House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe

“The Digital Battlefield: How Terrorists Use the Internet and Online Networks for Recruitment and Radicalization,” Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Testimony for House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence

“Pro-Palestinian Activists Blame Bibas Children for Their Own Murders,” David May, The Algemeiner

“The Arab plan for Gaza sidelines Hamas and PA, but only for six months,” Hussain Abdul-Hussain, Asia Times

“Sudan’s Civil War Edges Toward a Stalemate as RSF Rebels Establish Separatist Governing Authority,” Mariam Wahba, FDD Policy Brief

“Nascent Syrian armed group emerges to confront Israeli forces,” Ahmad Sharawi and Joe Truzman, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Anti-Taliban groups conclude fifth Vienna Conference,” Will Selber, FDD’s Long War Journal

“Putin Spokesman Confirms Russian Offer to Mediate Between U.S. and Iran Over Iranian Nuclear Program,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“Israel Eliminates 2 Iran-backed Terrorists in Separate Operations,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“‘Strategic Buttress’: Shin Bet Calls Out Qatar’s Funding of Hamas Terror,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief

“‘No Peace Without Palestinian State’: Arab League Endorses Egyptian Plan to Rebuild Gaza,” FDD Experts, FDD Flash Brief