Ofer Winter
A reserve brigadier general who commanded the Givati Brigade during the 2014 Gaza war, Ofer Winter left the IDF in 2024 after 34 years of service. In August 2026, he founded the Amcha Yisrael party on a nationalist platform with a firm security stance, for his first electoral candidacy.
- Ideology
- Nationalist-religious right, firm security stance
- Current role
- Founder and chairman of the Amcha Yisrael party
- Born
- February 3, 1971Rekhasim
Key takeaways
- 01
He is a former brigadier general; he commanded the Givati Brigade during the 2014 Gaza war, then the 98th Division (2019–2022).
- 02
He directed the controversial battle of Rafah in August 2014 (“Black Friday”), whose civilian toll is disputed.
- 03
He reportedly proposed a blockade of Gaza rather than a ground offensive a few days after October 7, 2023, and denies having predicted the deaths of 15,000 soldiers.
- 04
He was passed over for promotion a second time and dismissed in May 2024 after 34 years of service.
- 05
He founded the Amcha Yisrael party in August 2026 after declining a new offer of a reserved spot in Likud; he initially promised to recommend only Netanyahu as prime minister, then in October 2026 presented this support as conditional on his demands (conscription, victory in Gaza).
Controversies
In 2014, he sent a strongly religiously worded pre-battle letter, criticized by academics as improperly mixing religion and military command.
Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot refused to promote him to the rank of division commander in 2018, despite the support of Netanyahu and Liberman, an episode that several analysts link to the 2014 controversy; he ultimately obtained the position the following year under a new chief of staff.
He was reprimanded in June 2021 for an unauthorized meeting with Prime Minister-designate Naftali Bennett.
He reportedly told Netanyahu, a few days after October 7, 2023, that a ground offensive in Gaza would cost the lives of 15,000 soldiers if it continued — a statement he denies having made, while confirming that he proposed an alternative blockade strategy.
Born on February 3, 1971, in Rekhasim, Ofer Winter grew up in Kiryat Ata. He enlisted in the IDF in November 1990, serving in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit and then in Maglan alongside future minister Naftali Bennett, before commanding the undercover Duvdevan unit (2007–2009) and then the Givati Brigade (August 2013–June 2015). Leading Givati during the 2014 Gaza war, he sent his troops a religiously worded letter before directing the controversial battle of Rafah on August 1, known as “Black Friday,” whose civilian toll remains disputed between Israeli and Palestinian estimates.
Promoted to brigadier general in 2016, he became chief of staff of Central Command and then military secretary to the minister of defense. In 2018, Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot refused to promote him to the rank of division commander despite the support of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Liberman; the following year, the new chief of staff, Aviv Kohavi, appointed him to lead the 98th Division, a position he held until September 2022. In the meantime, he was reprimanded on June 9, 2021, for an unauthorized meeting with Prime Minister-designate Naftali Bennett.
A few days after the October 7, 2023 attack, while without an active command, he reportedly met secretly with Netanyahu to propose a total blockade of Gaza rather than a ground offensive, predicting the deaths of 15,000 soldiers — a figure he firmly denies having cited. Passed over for promotion a second time, he was dismissed on May 8, 2024, after 34 years of service, a decision that Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman described as a “scandal,” while National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir asserted that it was the direct consequence of his misconduct and failures. He declined a reserved spot on the Likud list in August.
In August 2026, he declined a new offer from Netanyahu of a reserved spot in Likud before founding the Amcha Yisrael party on August 25, declaring two days later that he would recommend only Netanyahu as prime minister after the elections. In September 2026, he rejected a Likud proposal to merge his party into a joint list with Bezalel Smotrich and Moshe Feiglin, while conducting parallel discussions with other new parties.
Ofer Winter was born on February 3, 1971, in Rekhasim and grew up in Kiryat Ata. His father fought in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. He studied at the Or Etzion religious military school and then at the Bnei David pre-military academy in Eli, before joining the IDF in November 1990. He first served in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit and then in Maglan, alongside future MK and minister Naftali Bennett. He later commanded the undercover Duvdevan unit from 2007 to 2009, and took command of the Givati Brigade in August 2013.
As Givati commander during the summer 2014 Gaza war (Operation Protective Edge), he sent his troops a strongly religious "commander's letter" before the ground offensive. It called for divine protection and described the campaign as a fight against a "blasphemous" or "Gazan terrorist" enemy. Academics criticized the text, including legal scholar Mordechai Kremnitzer of the Israel Democracy Institute. They said it wrongly mixed religious authority with military command and ignored the duty to protect civilians.
On August 1, 2014, he led the disputed battle of Rafah, known as "Black Friday." The civilian death toll is still disputed: about 40 according to Israeli estimates, and up to 120 according to Palestinian sources. He left the Givati command in June 2015.
After leaving Givati, Ofer Winter was promoted to brigadier general in 2016. He became chief of staff of Central Command and then military secretary to the defense minister. In 2018, Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot refused to promote him to division commander, despite reported support from Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman. Several analysts linked this decision to ongoing criticism of the 2014 Rafah operation. The next year, the new chief of staff, Aviv Kohavi, appointed him commander of the 98th Division, which he led from August 2020 to September 2022.
Meanwhile, on June 9, 2021, Central Command chief Tamir Yadai reported to Chief of Staff Kohavi an unauthorized meeting between Winter and incoming Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (then a Yamina MK, a few days before taking office). Winter was reprimanded for breaking the IDF rule that bans direct contact between generals and public officials. He was described at the time as a repeat offender on this point.
A few days after the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, when he had no active command, Winter reportedly met Netanyahu in secret, according to a Channel 12 report. He allegedly proposed a full blockade of Gaza instead of a ground offensive, warning that 15,000 soldiers would be killed and thousands captured if the offensive went ahead. Winter firmly denies making this specific prediction, calling it "a complete lie," but confirms that he proposed an alternative war that would be "powerful, short and smart." The actual ground offensive in Gaza cost the lives of 473 IDF soldiers.
He was passed over for promotion a second time and was told of his discharge on May 8, 2024, after 34 years in the army. The decision was criticized by several politicians: former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, the Yisrael Beytenu leader, whom Winter had served as military secretary, called it "a scandal," and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir called it "a direct continuation of the misconduct and failures" of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. In August of that year, he turned down a reserved spot on the Likud list.
In August 2026, Prime Minister Netanyahu met privately with Ofer Winter at the Prime Minister's Office. He offered him a reserved spot on the Likud list, plus more reserved spots for other candidates of his choice. Winter turned down the offer and founded the Amcha Yisrael party in Jerusalem on August 25, 2026. He said that after October 7, it would be a bitter mistake to think that "the public will accept that nothing changes."
Two days later, on August 27, he wrote on X that his party would recommend only Netanyahu to form the next government: "We are part of the right-wing camp. Netanyahu is the leader of the right-wing camp, and he is the only person we will recommend."
In early September 2026, Likud tried to break up Amcha Yisrael. It offered Winter second place on a joint list led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Moshe Feiglin, with one more representative of his party in the top ten. It also offered two reserved Likud spots for people close to him, including his deputy, Yoseph Haddad, and a guarantee that his faction could leave the joint list after the election and sit as an independent faction in the Knesset. Winter and Haddad rejected the offer in a joint statement: "The people of Israel demand something new, not more of the same." At that point, he was holding parallel talks with Reservists-Economy and with the new party The Haredi Public.