Head of military intelligence quits over Hamas attack failures
The head of Israel’s military intelligence has resigned after accepting responsibility for the failures that allowed the Hamas attack on 7 October.
Major General Aharon Haliva, 56, was one of several senior Israeli commanders who said they had failed to prevent the death of 1,200 Israelis and the capture of more than 250 hostages by Hamas.
In a resignation letter released by the military, he said: “The intelligence division under my command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with. I have carried that black day with me ever since.”
He said he would remain in his position until a replacement was found. Shortly after the attack, he and others publicly said that they shouldered blame for not preventing it.
He added in his letter that he had wanted to resign immediately after 7 October but stayed through the initial part of the war.
Major General Haliva (inset) also called for the establishment of a state investigative committee to “investigate and find out in a thorough, in-depth, comprehensive and precise manner all the factors and circumstances” that resulted in the 7 October attack. He will remain in post until a successor is named.
Local media reported that further resignations among senior Israeli security officials were expected once the war on Gaza ended.
However, the risk consultancy Sibylline told i that further resignations were “relatively unlikely” in the short term, pointing out that losing senior leadership officials was “not necessarily in the IDF’s [Israel
Defence Forces] best interests at such a time”, as it conducts the war in Gaza.
There was a “realistic possibility” there would be resignations after the findings of a state inquiry though, it added.
After 7 October, the IDF’s chief of staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, and Ronen Bar, director of the Shin Bet security service, both acknowledged responsibility for failing to protect Israelis but stayed on for the war in Gaza.
Other leaders have refused to take responsibility or step down, most notably the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, even as a growing protest movement demands early elections. He has said he will answer questions about his role but has not outright acknowledged direct responsibility for allowing the attack to unfold. Protesters took to the streets on Saturday calling for Mr Netanyahu’s resignation over failures in retrieving the remaining 133 hostages.
He is under intense scrutiny internationally over the Gaza war, and Israel’s recent escalation with Iran has been viewed by some as an attempt by Mr Netanyahu to regain dwindling US support and focus attention away from both Gaza and domestic protests.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid welcomed Major General Haliva’s resignation, saying it was “justified and dignified”. He added on X, formerly Twitter: “It would be appropriate for Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu to do the same.”