Ex-general Gadi Eisenkot tests Netanyahu as elections near

Gadi Eisenkot, a former general who quit Benjamin Netanyahu’s war Cabinet over Gaza strategy, is launching his centrist “Yashar!” campaign and emerging as a serious electoral challenger heading into fall elections.

By the time Gadi Eisenkot quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war Cabinet. his criticism had already become a kind of political weapon: he said Netanyahu lacked a strategy for Gaza. Now. with Israel’s elections scheduled for the fall. Eisenkot is turning that break into a candidacy—one that could force Israelis to look again at how the war is being fought. and who gets to define what comes after.

On Tuesday in Israel, Eisenkot’s centrist political party, “Yashar!” or “Straight!” was set to formally launch its election-season campaign. At 66. Eisenkot is a newcomer to partisan politics in a landscape where Netanyahu—leaders of Israel’s right-wing Likud Party—has long dominated. But his rise from the highest ranks of the military. combined with his public divorce from Netanyahu’s war Cabinet. has made him one of the most serious challengers in the elections.

He sharpened scrutiny of Netanyahu’s stewardship through multiple wars. even as he has broadly supported Israeli military operations in places such as Gaza. Lebanon and Iran. The break with Netanyahu came after the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, when Eisenkot accused the prime minister of strategic failure.

Netanyahu has pushed back in recent days, arguing that if he had listened to Eisenkot—who was opposed to certain operations in Gaza—“all of Hamas” would still be in control in the territory.

To Gideon Rahat. a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute think tank in Jerusalem. the contest is partly about temperament. Eisenkot. Rahat said. “looks like a front-runner because he’s everything Netanyahu is not.” In Rahat’s view. Eisenkot is “not polarizing. ” not “a populist. ” and would try to unify the country.

For Israelis, the personal story is inseparable from the political one. Eisenkot is the 66-year-old son of Jewish Moroccan immigrants and comes from what his supporters describe as a working-class background. He spent four decades in Israel’s military. His English is described as unpolished, and he has not built his political image around close ties to U.S. President Donald Trump.

His family has also carried the war’s losses in a way that has elevated his profile. Eisenkot’s 25-year-old son, Gal Meir Eisenkot, was killed in combat in Gaza. Netanyahu’s son—a podcaster—lived part-time in Florida.

Losing a son—along with two nephews—to the war has shaped how many Israelis see Eisenkot, Rahat said. “People trust him to be a real person and a patriot. They expect him to take care of the country and not himself,” he said.

Eisenkot’s platform centers on strengthening Israel’s national security, including through regional cooperation. He has also said he supports Jewish settlements that are “in line with Israel’s interests” in the occupied West Bank. In addition. he has adopted the slogan “Service for All. ” a reference to mandating military service for Israel’s ultra-Orthodox communities.

For Israelis exhausted by war or by the prospect of sending loved ones into combat. those positions may land differently than Netanyahu’s. Joshua Leifer. a columnist for Israel’s Haaretz newspaper. wrote that Eisenkot “presents as an everyman. a reflection of the ordinary Israeli.” Leifer described him as “a kind of antipolitician.”.

Even before he joined electoral politics. Eisenkot’s public record contained what critics call a deeper unease with Netanyahu’s direction. In 2024, Eisenkot resigned from Netanyahu’s war Cabinet, saying Netanyahu lacked strategy as Israel prosecuted its war in Gaza. He sent what was described as a blistering letter to fellow Cabinet members. warning they were mistaking incremental battlefield gains for decisions that could actually neutralize Hamas and make Israel more secure.

His disagreement was not framed around how much destruction Israel was using in Gaza or the high civilian toll—both of which drew global outrage. And while Eisenkot has at times emphasized diplomacy as a way to address Israel’s security challenges. he is also credited with formulating Israel’s so-called “Dahiyeh Doctrine. ” named after the area in Beirut’s southern suburbs where the Hezbollah militant group has a stronghold.

He elaborated on that doctrine in a 2008 interview with the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth. after serving as a top military official during Israel’s war with Lebanon in 2006. “What happened in the Dahiyeh quarter of Beirut in 2006 will happen in every village from which shots will be fired in the direction of Israel. ” Eisenkot said. “We will wield disproportionate power against every village from which shots are fired on Israel. and cause immense damage and destruction. From our perspective, these are military bases.”.

That background may help explain why Eisenkot’s rise is stirring attention without erasing uncertainty. Even with anti-Netanyahu sentiment and Eisenkot’s distinctive profile, challenging Netanyahu—who may be unpopular but still holds power—remains difficult in Israel’s fractured multi-party system.

Prime ministers rarely finish their four-year terms. Coalitions collapse and new alliances form. Because of that, even if Eisenkot’s party wins more seats than Netanyahu’s, it would still need to form alliances with enough other parties to constitute a majority.

Eisenkot has said he will not compromise on legislation mandating military service for the ultra-Orthodox, who also wield political power. He would also face a key decision on whether to include Arab-led parties to cross the electoral threshold—a move that Netanyahu and his far-right allies have already used as an attack line.

For now, the fall campaign is only just gathering speed. But with Eisenkot stepping out with “Yashar!” and Netanyahu countering with warnings about Hamas control. the contest is already forcing a direct confrontation over Gaza strategy—and over the kind of leadership Israelis believe should be trusted with their next move.

Gadi Eisenkot Yashar! Straight Benjamin Netanyahu Israel elections war Cabinet Gaza strategy Hamas-led attacks ultra-Orthodox military service Service for All Dahiyeh Doctrine Hezbollah Yedioth Ahronoth