Zamir, a veteran commander, will take charge of the Israel Defense Forces on March 6, 2025, at a time of growing regional threats and military transformation

We are a military that is very proud to implement the [government’s] policy, to implement the decision to return the hostages, and we will be just as proud to return and fight,” Halevi

It is believed that at least two of the six American hostages still held in Gaza are alive — Sagui Dekel-Chen, 35, who grew up in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and Edan Alexander, 19, from Tenafly, New Jersey. Four other Americans are believed to have been killed in captivity.