page_title: Gabi Ashkenazi
section_title: Northern Command (1988–2002)
hierarchical_section_title: Gabi Ashkenazi / Military career / Northern Command (1988–2002)
caption_attribution_description: January 18, 2011. The Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, visits the Air Force as part of his final meeting with all units and branches in the IDF. During his visit, Lt. Gen. Ashkenazi came to the Ramon and Nevatim IAF bases, met with bereaved families who had lost loves ones during service, flew in th F-16I ("Sufa") plane, and took part in advanced training in a C-130 Hercules ("Karnaf") plane. במסגרת סבב ביקורי הפרידה של הרמטכ"ל, רב אלוף גבי אשכנזי, מיחידות צה"ל התקיים היום (ג'), ביקור פרידה מחיל האוויר. במהלך הביקור ביקר בבסיסי חיל האוויר רמון ונבטים, נפגש עם משפחות שכולות, טס במטוס "סופה" וביצע תרגיל מתקדם במטוס "קרנף".
context_page_description: Gabriel "Gabi" Ashkenazi is an Israeli politician and former military leader. He currently serves as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was the Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 2007 to 2011. He was the fourth Mizrahi Jew to become Chief of Staff of the IDF.
context_section_description: In 1988, Ashkenazi was appointed head of Intelligence for Israeli Northern Command. He commanded a reserve armor division in the early 1990s and later worked as the chief of Israel's civil administration in Lebanon, and in 1994 was promoted to chief of the General Staff's Operations Directorate. In 1998, Ashkenazi was appointed head of the Israeli Northern Command, a position that would make him responsible for Israel's withdrawal from its Security Zone in Southern Lebanon, ending Israel's 18 year presence in the country. Ashkenazi criticized the withdrawal, believing that it should have been accompanied by negotiations with Syria.
caption: The Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, visits the Air Force as part of his final meeting with all units and branches in the IDF.
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