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Gadi Eisenkot, a former chief of staff who served 41 years in Israel's military, has emerged as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's most formidable challenger in the coming election, despite having sat in the War Cabinet formed after Israel launched its attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Eisenkot, 66, founded the Yashar Party in 2025 and has promised a "change government." Polls show the party running ahead of Netanyahu's Likud, but neither reaches the 61 seats needed to command the 120-seat Knesset, leaving coalition bargaining to decide the next prime minister.

Polls favor Yashar but no majority in sight

Surveys conducted in Israel show Eisenkot's first-time Yashar Party ahead of Likud, the party led by Netanyahu, who has served as prime minister for 17 years across different periods.

Both leaders remain short of the 61 seats required to form a government in the 120-seat Knesset. The next government and its prime minister are therefore expected to be determined by the coalitions built in parliament.

Four decades in uniform

Born in 1960 in Tiberias to a Jewish family of Moroccan origin, Eisenkot grew up in Eilat in southern Israel. His father came from Marrakech and his mother from Casablanca. He joined the military's Golani Brigade in 1978 and began his service with the 13th Infantry Battalion before rising to command the brigade.

Eisenkot served as military secretary to two prime ministers and commanded the West Bank Division during the Second Intifada. He also headed the Operations Directorate, led the Northern Command and served as deputy chief of staff. He became chief of staff in 2015 and held the post until 2019.

The Dahiye Doctrine and the Gideon Plan

Eisenkot is associated with the "Dahiye Doctrine," which calls for disproportionate military force to be used against Hezbollah in Lebanon. According to the Yashar Party website, he developed the doctrine in 2006 during the Lebanon war, while leading the Northern Command and the Operations Directorate.

The doctrine calls for widening the use of military force against infrastructure beyond direct military targets during clashes with Hezbollah. As chief of staff, Eisenkot oversaw the implementation of the multi-year "Gideon Plan," which was designed to strengthen the army's ground, air, naval, intelligence and cyber capabilities.

From the Knesset to the War Cabinet

After retiring from the military, Eisenkot chaired the David Ben-Gurion Heritage Institute, which works to preserve the legacy of Israel's first prime minister and develop the Negev region, and he held positions in the private sector. He was elected to the 25th Knesset in 2022 and sat on the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

In August 2023 he warned that government policies and deep divisions in society were weakening Israel's deterrence and its regional standing. After October 7, 2023, he joined the War Cabinet with ministerial rank to help direct the military campaign in Gaza, taking part in setting objectives such as bringing Israeli captives back and dismantling Hamas and Hezbollah.

His son Gal was killed on December 7, 2023 in Jabalia in northern Gaza during fighting with Palestinian groups. His nephews, Yogev Bazi and Maor Cohen-Eisenkot, were also killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip.

A change candidate with a military record

Eisenkot founded the Yashar Party in 2025 to challenge Netanyahu for the premiership, presenting himself as a "candidate of change." The party says it seeks to preserve Israel as a "democratic, secure and strong Jewish state" guided by principles it describes as "the spirit of the Declaration of Independence."

The election contest has centered on who will lead the government. Eisenkot's background includes command of the Israeli army and membership in the War Cabinet during the war in Gaza, and the biography published by Yashar contains no indication of a fundamental shift in Israel's military approach toward the Palestinians.

Key takeaways

• Gadi Eisenkot, 66, a former Israeli chief of staff, is challenging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the Yashar Party he founded in 2025.
• Polls place Yashar ahead of Likud, but neither party reaches the 61 seats needed in the 120-seat Knesset.
• Eisenkot is linked to the Dahiye Doctrine and oversaw the multi-year Gideon Plan during his 2015-2019 term as chief of staff.
• His son Gal and two nephews were killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip.