On April 8, 2024, a week after the targeted killing in Damascus of Maj Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi , aka Hassan Mahdavi, the commander of Iran’s Quds Force for Syria and Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces command understood that Tehran would retaliate by launching hundreds of ballistic missiles , and drones and cruise missiles, toward Israel.

When this alarming intelligence reached then-IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, his immediate response was to pick up the telephone. “Erik,” he said into the receiver, “I need your help.”

Erik is the middle name of Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, who until Friday led the U.S. Central Command. While subordinates address him as “General,” colleagues privately call him “the Gorilla,” a nickname earned through his imposing physical presence and four

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