Dudu Bar-Kalifa Tapped to Lead IDF Central Command

Major General Dudu Bar-Kalifa is set to be appointed as the next commander of the Israel Defense Forces' Central Command, replacing the current commander, Major General Avi Blot. The appointment was approved by Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday, following a recommendation from IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir.

Bar-Kalifa, 50, who currently serves as the head of the Manpower Directorate since November 2024, will assume his new role in 2027, contingent on operational assessments. He is a father of five and a grandfather of two. His extensive military career includes commanding the Givati Brigade's training base, serving as the ground forces liaison to the U.S. Marine Corps, and commanding the Gaza Division's Southern Brigade. He later returned to lead the Givati Brigade in 2017, and in 2019, he commanded the Sinai Division and the IDF's Command and Staff College. In 2022, he took command of the Bashan Division (36), leading it during operations in central Gaza, before his current role.

In a separate appointment, Colonel Efrat Kikav has been named commander of the 282nd Fire Brigade, making her the first woman to command such a brigade and the second woman overall to command an IDF brigade. The IDF also announced that most infantry brigade commanders will be replaced in the upcoming rotation.