Ofer Winter (born February 3, 1971) is a retired Israel Defense Forces brigadier general and Israeli politician. He commanded the Givati Brigade during Operation Protective Edge, served as military secretary to four defense ministers, and commanded the IDF’s 98th “Fire” Division. In August 2026, he entered politics as the founder and leader of the right-wing Amcha Yisrael party.
Winter was born in Rechasim and raised in Kiryat Ata. The eldest of four brothers, he has said that his military outlook was influenced by his father, David, who served in the Armored Corps during the Yom Kippur War. Winter attended the Or Etzion Military Boarding School for Command from 1985 to 1989 and subsequently studied in the second class of the Bnei David pre-military academy in Eli.
Winter enlisted in the IDF in November 1990 and volunteered for Sayeret Matkal. After completing infantry officers’ training, he transferred to the Maglan commando unit, where he served as a team and platoon commander and participated in numerous operations, including Operation Grapes of Wrath in Lebanon in 1996.
He later joined the Givati Brigade, serving as a company commander in the Tzabar Battalion and, from 2000 to 2002, as commander of the brigade’s reconnaissance company. In 2003, Winter was promoted to lieutenant colonel and placed in command of the Givati Reconnaissance Battalion, which conducted extensive counterterrorism operations in the Gaza Strip during the Second Intifada. The battalion received a Southern Command citation in 2004 and the IDF Medal of Distinguished Service in 2005 for its operations in Gaza.
From 2005 to 2007, Winter served in Washington as the IDF liaison to the United States Marine Corps. He returned to Israel to command the Duvdevan counterterrorism unit, which participated in combat in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. During his tenure, Duvdevan received the Chief of Staff’s Award for Outstanding Units.
Promoted to colonel in 2009, Winter commanded the reserve 646th “Flying Foxes” Paratroopers Brigade and subsequently the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade. He was appointed commander of the Givati Brigade in August 2013.
Winter led Givati during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, when the brigade fought Hamas forces, located tunnels, and destroyed terrorist infrastructure. Before the ground operation, he issued a message to his commanders invoking the Shema Yisrael prayer and describing Hamas as an enemy that blasphemed the God of Israel. The letter made Winter a prominent figure among religious Zionists but also generated debate over the place of religious language in the military.
Winter also commanded Givati forces during the battle in Rafah that followed the killing of Lt. Hadar Goldin and the seizure of his body by Hamas on August 1, 2014. The forces implemented the controversial Hannibal Directive to prevent the abduction. The intensity of the ensuing fire drew international criticism. An IDF examination identified operational shortcomings but found no evidence of criminal conduct.
In 2015, Winter received the Defense Ministry’s research and development award for his contribution to a technological system designed to counter the tunnel threat. He subsequently attended Israel’s National Security College.
Winter was promoted to brigadier general in July 2016 and appointed chief of staff of the IDF Central Command. In October 2018, he became military secretary to the defense minister. He remained in the post under Avigdor Liberman, Benjamin Netanyahu, Naftali Bennett, and Benny Gantz.
In August 2020, Winter assumed command of the 98th “Fire” Division, which includes the Paratroopers and Commando brigades. In 2021, Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi reprimanded him for contacting Bennett, then a member of the Knesset, without authorization or for failing to report the conversation through the military chain of command. Winter completed his divisional command in September 2022 and went on study leave.
During the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Winter drove from his home in northern Israel to the combat zone near Kibbutz Be’eri. He joined soldiers fighting in the area and reportedly participated in a battle in which at least 11 terrorists were killed.
Winter was repeatedly considered for promotion to major general but was not selected. In May 2024, Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi informed him that he would be released from the IDF. He formally retired later that year after approximately 34 years of military service.
Following his retirement, Winter became an outspoken critic of Israel’s security doctrine, arguing that deterrence and containment had failed and should be replaced by military initiative and decisive victory. His public statements and possible entry into politics generated considerable interest among religious Zionist and other right-wing voters.
On August 25, 2026, Winter officially launched the Amcha Yisrael (“Your People, Israel”) party at an event in Jerusalem. The party’s initial slate included Arab Israeli activist Yoseph Haddad in the second position, journalist Netali Shem-Tov, former Jerusalem deputy mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, bereaved relatives, reservists, community leaders, and legal and economic professionals.
Winter identified Amcha Yisrael as part of the right-wing camp and said it would seek to establish a broad right-wing government with Zionist partners. Its stated priorities included adopting a more offensive national security doctrine, integrating ultra-Orthodox men into the IDF, strengthening cooperation with Arab citizens who support the state, reforming the judicial system, and combating organized crime and protection rackets. Winter rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state, advocated emigration from Gaza, and argued that enemies initiating wars against Israel should pay a territorial price.
Winter lives in Mitzpe Netofa in northern Israel. He is married to Revital, and they have eight children.
Sources: “Ofer Winter,” American Friends of Yeshivot Bnei Akiva.
“Givati Brigade,” Israel Defense Forces.
“Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter Appointed Military Secretary to the Defense Minister,” Israel Defense Forces, (October 11, 2018).
Jacob Magid, Judah Ari Gross, “General Said Snubbed by IDF Chief Appointed as Top Liberman Aide,” Times of Israel, (July 25, 2018).
Judah Ari Gross, “General Snubbed by Previous IDF Chief Gets Long-Sought Promotion,” Times of Israel, (July 2, 2019).
Yoav Zitun, Eitan Glickman, “Veteran Officers Rushed to Fight Terrorists During the Massacre in Southern Israel,” Ynet, (October 8, 2023).
“IDF Chief Informed Brig. Gen. Winter of His Discharge,” Kan News, (May 8, 2024).
“IDF Denies Claim by General That Halevi Criticized Netanyahu’s Decision-Making,” Jerusalem Post, (December 12, 2024).
Shir Perets, “Religious Ex-IDF General Ofer Winter Touts New ‘Amcha Yisrael’ Party, Taps Activist Yoseph Haddad,” Jerusalem Post, (August 25, 2026).
Photo: Nadav Margalit, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.