‘Midnight War’ in Israel’s war establishment

According to Israel’s Channel 12 television, early Tuesday morning, War Minister Yisrael Katz issued a late-night statement announcing a review of the Chief of Staff’s appointments. In the statement, released by his office, Katz stressed: “I will be reviewing the appointments made by the Chief of Staff, as they were carried out without coordination or agreement with me, and I will not approve any of them.”

The channel reported that the dispute did not end there. Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir responded before morning arrived, issuing two consecutive late-night statements claiming the appointments were made in accordance with agreements and decisions reached in prior review meetings. Zamir emphasized that the meetings leading to the appointments were fully in line with procedures and that it is the Chief of Staff who determines such postings.

Channel 12 described these back-and-forth statements as a “midnight war.” Katz maintained in his statement that the Chief of Staff’s appointments were illegal and that he had no intention of approving them. However, the military spokesperson’s office released its own statement shortly after Katz’s, insisting that such appointments are within the Chief of Staff’s authority and that he decides who serves in each position.

Despite the war minister’s objection, the military spokesperson also published the list of new appointments in writing. Zamir went further, instructing the spokesperson to issue another statement asserting that the Chief of Staff is the sole authority authorized to make such appointments within the army, after which the decision is communicated to the war minister—who does have the right to approve or reject them.

Unnamed military sources cited by several Hebrew media outlets on Tuesday accused Katz of “blackmail” and of treating the army chief as if he were a junior soldier. They alleged that Zamir had attempted for around a month to schedule a meeting with Katz regarding the round of appointments, without success.

According to the Ynet news site, the last such attempt was on Monday, and he was rejected “as if he were ranked corporal, and even though there was no surprise here.”

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slammed the government over the fracas, saying that “this is not how you lead an army.”

“In this crazy cabinet, even a basic event like appointing officers in the IDF doesn’t go by without leaks, fights, slander and nighttime announcements,” Lapid said in a statement.

This is not the first public clash between Katz and Zamir. In March 2025, Reserve Brigadier General Oren Solomon, the officer in charge of investigating the failures of October 7, stated in a letter that the army was attempting to cover up the investigation. Katz reacted strongly, ordering the officer to be summoned immediately. Zamir, however, refused, siding with Solomon and his investigation team. In response to Katz’s public remarks in the media, Zamir declared: “The Chief of Staff does not receive his orders through the media.”

Katz shot back aggressively, saying: “I will give my orders in any way I see fit, and your response was unnecessary and inappropriate.”

Previously, in December of last year, Katz had also opposed appointments made by then-Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.