Three months after assuming the role of Major General, the 7 October attacks occurred, marking the beginning of Operation Iron Swords.

In 2005, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and appointed as the head of the Chief of Staff's office under Dan Halutz,[5] serving in this position during the 2006 Lebanon War.

On August 20, 2017, the Chief of Staff, Gadi Eizenkot, issued a reprimand to Finkelman following the theft of thirty-three M16 rifles in May 2017 from the armory of the Sde Teiman base in the south, which was under his responsibility as the commander of the Givati Brigade.

In December, under his direction, the maneuver in the southern part of the Strip commenced, leading to the Battle of Khan Yunis, during which IDF forces developed combat tactics both above and below ground.

Under his command, the IDF conducted the most intense maneuver since Operation Cast Lead,[31] following decades of decline in the capabilities of the Ground Forces, and did so with a higher degree of inter-branch coordination and cooperation than before.

[34] After the operational takeover of territory, the command employed a "lawnmower" approach—gradually clearing the area of terrorists while reducing the number of forces deployed in the sector.

In March 2024, Finkelman conducted a war crimes investigation into the unauthorized demolition of al-Isra University in Gaza.

Upon completing his inquiry, he presented his findings to IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, which resulted in the official reprimand of Brigadier General Barak Hiram.

[35] On April 4, 2024, the Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, decided to issue him a reprimand due to the death of workers at the World Central Kitchen.

In October 2024, during a chance encounter, command forces killed the leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, at Tel al-Sultan in Rafah.