Israel, Jan 22: Israel’s military chief, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, has announced his resignation, acknowledging his responsibility for the military’s failure on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a deadly attack on the country, sparking the Gaza war. In a letter to the defence minister, Gen Halevi admitted the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had “failed in its mission to protect the citizens of Israel.” He described the failure as a burden that would stay with him “every day, every hour, for the rest of my life.”
Gen Halevi confirmed he would step down on March 6, highlighting the IDF’s “significant achievements” during his tenure while conceding that not all of Israel’s war goals had been achieved. His announcement comes amid ongoing scrutiny of Israeli military and intelligence failures leading up to the October 7 attack, during which Hamas gunmen breached Israel’s Gaza perimeter, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Following the attack, the IDF launched a massive air and ground campaign in Gaza. According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, over 47,100 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict. Gen Halevi claimed significant damage to Hamas’s military wing, stating that most of its leadership and nearly 20,000 operatives had been killed. He pledged to complete a thorough, transparent inquiry into the events of October 7 before leaving office but emphasized that broader preventative measures would require external investigations.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed gratitude to Gen Halevi for his service, crediting him with leading the IDF to “major achievements.” However, Netanyahu has yet to acknowledge personal responsibility for the October 7 failures, maintaining that an independent commission of inquiry should wait until the war concludes. Opposition leader Yair Lapid commended Gen Halevi’s decision to resign and urged Netanyahu and his government to do the same, calling their leadership “catastrophic.”
Currently, Gen Halevi is overseeing the IDF’s role in a three-phase Gaza ceasefire agreement with Hamas. The initial phase includes the release of 33 hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, alongside humanitarian measures such as troop withdrawals and increased aid deliveries. The second phase aims to secure the release of all remaining hostages and achieve a full Israeli troop withdrawal. The final phase envisions Gaza’s reconstruction, a process expected to take years.
Despite these steps, uncertainty looms over the agreement’s durability. Families of hostages and Palestinians in Gaza remain anxious about its implementation, and new U.S. President Donald Trump, who has claimed credit for brokering the ceasefire, has expressed doubts about its full execution. Netanyahu has warned that Israel will resume hostilities if the second-phase negotiations prove unproductive, with U.S. backing for such action reportedly assured.
Recent Comments