Israel’s military chief has resigned, saying he recognised his responsibility for its failure on 7 October 2023, when the Palestinian armed group Hamas carried out a deadly attack on the country that triggered the Gaza war.
In a letter to the defence minister, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, admitted the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had “failed in its mission to protect the citizens of Israel”.
The general said he would leave his role on 6 March at a time of “significant achievements” for the IDF, although he acknowledged that “not all” of Israel’s war goals had been achieved.
Shortly afterwards, the chief of the IDF’s Southern Command, Maj Gen Yaron Finkelman, also announced he was also stepping down, saying he had had failed in his “duty to protect the Western Negev and its beloved, heroic residents”.
Their resignations come three days after the start of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal agreed with Hamas, which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US and others.
Israeli military and intelligence officials missed or ignored many warnings before hundreds of Hamas gunmen breached Israel’s Gaza perimeter fence at multiple locations 15 months ago and attacked nearby Israeli communities, IDF bases and a music festival. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
The IDF responded by launching an air and ground campaign in Gaza, during which more than 47,100 Palestinians have been killed, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Gen Halevi said in a televised address on Tuesday that Hamas’s military wing had been “severely damaged”, with most of the group’s leadership and military commanders have been killed along with almost 20,000 “operatives”.
He also promised that the IDF’s inquiry into the events of 7 October, which he plans to complete before leaving his role, would be “high quality, thorough, and fully transparent”.
However, he warned that the military inquiry “is focused solely on the IDF and does not encompass the broader factors that could prevent similar events in the future”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Gen Halevi “for his many years of service and for commanding the IDF” during the war, saying it had “led to major achievements for Israel”.
Up to now, Netanyahu has said only that he is deeply sorry about what happened on 7 October and that he will have to answer “some tough questions” over his role, without acknowledging any responsibility. He has also said an independent commission of inquiry should wait until the end of the Gaza war.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid praised Halevi’s decision and called on Netanyahu to follow suit.
Gen Halevi is currently overseeing the IDF’s compliance with a three-phase Gaza ceasefire deal with Hamas that should see the remaining Israeli hostages released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
In total, 33 hostages should be released during the first phase lasting six weeks. Hamas handed over three women on Sunday, when the ceasefire took effect, and has said it will free another four women on Saturday.
Israeli forces should also withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza, displaced Palestinians should be allowed to begin returning to their homes, and hundreds of aid lorries should be allowed into the territory each day.
Negotiations for the second phase – which should see the remaining hostages released, a full Israeli troop withdrawal and “the restoration of sustainable calm” – should start in just over two weeks.
The third and final stage should involve the reconstruction of Gaza, which could take years, and the return of any remaining hostages’ bodies.
However, there is high anxiety among Palestinians in Gaza and the hostages’ families about whether the deal will hold.
New US President Donald Trump, who has taken credit for brokering the ceasefire, said on Monday that he was not confident that all three phases would be implemented.
Netanyahu has said Israel already has US backing to return to the fighting if it “reaches the conclusion that the second phase negotiations are ineffectual”.
