On Tuesday, Israel's top general, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, became the highest-ranking official to resign following Hamas' attack on October 7, 2023, marking the worst security failure in Israel's history. His resignation, along with the head of Israel's Southern Command, comes after 15 months of conflict in the Gaza Strip and ongoing tensions with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran. As the situation developed, they both announced their departures just days into a ceasefire with Hamas, signifying a potential turning point and possibly escalating calls for a public inquiry into the intelligence and security failures during the attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been in office for nearly all of the past 14 years leading up to the attack, has refrained from taking responsibility for the incident. He acknowledged that multiple officials, including himself, should face scrutiny but insisted that a public inquiry would only be appropriate after the ongoing war concludes. Critics argue that Netanyahu's long-standing policy of attempting to contain Hamas, which involved allowing significant financial aid from Qatar to flow into Gaza in exchange for relative calm, significantly contributed to the security breaches that led to the October attack.
On the other hand, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was dismissed in November by Netanyahu due to divergent views on the war's conduct. Gallant became popular among the public by advocating for a hostage deal rather than purely focusing on the defeat of Hamas. His call for an inquiry into the failures of October 7 further positions him as a significant figure amid the evolving circumstances following the ceasefire.
Halevi's resignation underscores the pressures faced by military leadership in the aftermath of the attack, as he publicly accepted responsibility for the military's failures on that day. He assured that any internal investigations would be rigorously completed before his departure, set for March 6. Meanwhile, Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, who has been with the agency since 2021, acknowledged the failure to prevent the Hamas attack shortly after it occurred but has maintained his role, indicating that investigations should only happen post-war.
David Barnea, head of the Mossad, is positioned differently as his focus lies in foreign intelligence rather than domestic threats. He played a key role in negotiations leading to the ceasefire and therefore may not be held accountable for the failures surrounding the October attacks.
Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, head of the military’s Southern Command, expressed profound remorse in his resignation letter, stating that his inability to defend southern Israel on October 7 would be "etched" in his memory forever. Similarly, Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, head of military intelligence, resigned in April, acknowledging that his unit did not accomplish its mission on that day, reflecting the heavy toll that the security failures have had on military leadership.
The resignations of these key figures are expected to exacerbate demands for a comprehensive investigation into the events surrounding the October attack, particularly as the war continues and more details regarding leadership accountability unfold. As Israel grapples with its security apparatus and political climate, the implications of these resignations are likely to resonate throughout the ongoing conflict.
