Two former IDF generals appointed to coordinate restoration of Israel’s southern and northern home fronts

Retired IDF Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yiftach Ron-Tal, a former head of the IDF ground forces, has been appointed coordinator for Israel’s southern region, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday. Netanyahu also appointed former Israel Navy commander Maj.-Gen. (res.) Eliezer Cheney Marom to coordinate restoration of the war-affected area in the north, where there has been an escalation of attacks on Israel from the Iranian-backed Lebanese terror forces of Hezbollah.

While Ron-Tal has been tasked to manage restoration of Israeli communities close to Gaza, the retired IDF general recently blasted the Netanyahu government for failing to secure Israel’s northern border.

"A government that will not transfer the war to the enemy's territory and remove the threat does not deserve to be the government of Israel," Ron-Tal said during a recent, candid interview with Israeli Radio 103FM.

Marom also condemned the slow pace of Israel's war against Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza.

"I have a lot of criticism of the conduct of the war until now, I think things could have been done much faster and differently. I think the security and political leadership should be replaced as quickly as possible," Marom said in an interview radio interview last week.

"The Chief of Staff said that he bears the responsibility and everyone is waiting for the moment when he will put the keys and vacate the place. In the meantime, he is running the war, he is doing it alone, there is almost no one around him, he bears the responsibility alone and the results speak for themselves," Marom added, referring to incumbent IDF head Herzi Halevi.

The Israeli military’s Northern Command, responsible for Israel's front against Hezbollah, welcomed the appointment of Marom as the coordinator.

"In the coming days we will contact him and convey the message of the hundreds of families: It is time for an extensive campaign in the North, which will only end in a security strip in Lebanon, and absolute Israeli control," read the official statement.

IDF Northern Command emphasized that restoring the security for northern Israeli communities required decisive military action against Hezbollah.

"Even now it is important to remember – if security does not return to the North, the residents will not return either. It is time to work on the restoration of the North and the destruction of Lebanon."

After the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion and terror attack on southern Israeli communities near the Gaza border, Hezbollah forces launched its first attack against northern Israel on Oct. 8.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have since been evacuated from their homes in northern Israel and living in temporary housing in other parts of the nation.

According to the IDF, Hezbollah has reportedly fired over 5,000 aerial projectiles targeting the Jewish state. In addition, dozens of Israelis and more than 300 Hezbollah terrorists have been killed in the conflict, which continues to escalate.

The international community, particularly the U.S. and French governments, have so far unsuccessfully tried to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Political leaders in Israel have emphasized the need to remove the Hezbollah threat from Israel’s northern border either diplomatically or by force.