In Farewell Interviews, IDF Chief of Staff Reveals Israel Conducted ‘Thousands’ Of Strikes in Syria

Gadi Eizenkot summed up his soon-to-be-completed four-year tenure as head of the Israeli army in media interviews this weekend, revealing that the IDF under his command struck “thousands” of Iranian targets in Syria. The military chief reiterated that the biggest threat to the Jewish state remains the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has sought to “strangle Israel from Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.” Asked whether Tehran has been deterred by Jerusalem, Eizenkot responded that while the mullahs remain “a long way from achieving [their] goal” of destroying Israel, they have not given up this ambition even as they “scale back” operations. Notably, the IDF head also issued a veiled threat to Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iranian military operations abroad, stating that, “he who acts against us puts himself in danger.” When queried directly why the Iranian terror master has not become a victim of targeted assassinations, Eizenkot simply replied, “that’s a question.” With respect to Hizbullah, the chief of staff contended that the IDF’s Northern Shield mission to uncover and destroy cross-border attack tunnels has inflicted a serious blow on Tehran’s Lebanon-based proxy, which he described as having only “marginal” capabilities with which to harm Israel. As regards Hamas, Eisenkot stressed that over the past two years the IDF shifted its focus away from Gaza in order to prevent getting bogged down in recurrent battles against a lesser foe such as Hamas. “When you fight for many years against a weak enemy,” he said, “it also weakens you.” Overall, Eizenkot believes that the Jewish state is more secure than it was when he took control of the army but qualified that the country still faces significant challenges. He is slated to step down on Tuesday and will be replaced by Aviv Kochavi.