Israel: The chief of Israeli military intelligence has resigned, taking responsibility for the failures that led to the Hamas attack on Israel in October. Major General Aharon Haliva will retire once his successor is selected, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
In a letter, he acknowledged that his intelligence directorate “did not live up to the task we were entrusted with”. This attack was the deadliest in Israel’s history, and Haliva is the first senior figure to step down over the incident.
Multiple forewarnings were ignored or missed by Israeli troops and intelligence administrators before hundreds of Hamas gunmen broke into the Gaza border fence. The gunmen thrashed nearby Israeli communities, army bases, and a music festival. According to Israeli tallies, about 1,200 civilians, including foreigners, were massacred and 253 others were taken as captives and brought back to Gaza.
In answer to the invasion by Hamas and the absconding of Israeli soldiers, Israel established a military drive in Gaza to disassemble Hamas and free the captives. The battle resulted in more than 34,000 Palestinian fatalities, most of whom were ladies and kids, according to the Gaza-based health ministry run by Hamas.
The Israeli Defense Forces issued a notification announcing the concession of Major General Aharon Haliva, who was in charge of the espionage directorate, mentioning his accountability for the occurrences that arose on October 7th.
In his concession note, the general remarked that, “I carry that black day with me ever since, day after day, night after night. I will carry the horrible pain of the war with me forever. Everything I did during my service in the IDF was for the sake of the people of Israel and the State of Israel.” He insisted on forming a state commission of inquiry to exhaustively explore the aspects that guided the events.
It was expected that Haliva would accept the blame for the intelligence failures of his directorate, as he previously declared so ten days after the raid. However, this statement sets the stage for more foreseen consequences from Israel’s top security administrators.
The chief of staff of IDF, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, and the director of Shin Bet security service, Ronen Bar, both took accountability for failing to safeguard Israelis, but they were determined to remain on for the war in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed that everyone, including himself, must give explanations. However, he did not take any direct blame for the happening so far.
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