Israeli army chief resigns over failure to stop Hamas’s Oct 7 attacks

Tel Aviv: Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi has announced his resignation from his post over his inability to prevent the October 7, 2023 attacks by the Palestinian resistance organization Hamas.

According to foreign media reports, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said that he will resign on March 6 over his failure to prevent the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

In a letter issued by the Israeli army, Halevi addressed the Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister and said that, as the Israeli Defense Forces are responsible for the failure of October 7, he wished to end my term on March 6, 2025.

Lieutenant General Herzi wrote that on the morning of October 7, the Israeli Defense Forces under his command failed to protect Israeli citizens and Israel paid a heavy and painful price.

According to reports, the Israeli Defense Minister had given Halevi until January 30 to complete his investigation to determine the reasons for failure to prevent the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

A statement from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said that Netanyahu spoke with Halevi on Tuesday and thanked the Chief of Staff for his long service and leadership of the IDF.

It is pertinent to note that this resignation came a few days after the ceasefire with Hamas.

On the other hand, Arab media say that the Israeli army chief’s term ends in March.

In addition, Major General Yaron Finkelman, the commanding officer of Israel’s Southern Command, also resigned on October 7 for failing to prevent Hamas attacks.

It should be noted that on October 7, 2023, Hamas fired 1,000 rockets at Israel and breached the border fence to attack Israeli settlements and soldiers in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The attack resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 Israelis and the capture of hundreds of Israeli civilians and soldiers in Gaza.

Using the October 7 attacks as justification, Israel launched a devastating aerial bombardment of Gaza the next day, followed by a ground offensive a few days later.