The head of Israel’s intelligence agency resigned Monday over failures surrounding the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, becoming the first senior official to leave office over his role in the deadliest attack of the history of Israel.
The resignation of Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva could pave the way for other resignations among top Israeli security officials in the wake of the Hamas attack.
On October 7, Hamas militants broke through Israel’s border defenses, ransacked communities without being apprehended for hours and killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, while taking around 250 hostages back to Gaza.
This attack triggered the war that Israel is still waging against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The conflict is now in its seventh month.
In a statement provided by the Israeli army, Major General Haliva acknowledged that “the intelligence leadership, under [son] command, was not up to the task”, and that since the day of the attack, he has carried with him “the horrible pain of war”.
Major General Haliva’s resignation was expected, due to the blatant failures that preceded the events of October 7. Other military leaders could also leave office for similar reasons.
However, it is difficult to predict when other army officials might resign, as Israel continues to fight Hamas in Gaza, as well as the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah further north.
Tensions with Iran are also high. Some military experts have argued that resigning at a time when Israel is engaged on multiple fronts is irresponsible and could be interpreted as a sign of weakness.
Surprise attack
Shortly after the Hamas attack on October 7, Major General Haliva publicly admitted that he was responsible for failing to prevent the attack. As head of the military intelligence department, it was his duty to provide the government and military with daily warnings and alerts.
While Mr. Haliva and other officials have acknowledged that they failed to stop the attack, other leaders have not gone as far, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who promised he would respond to difficult questions about his role, but who did not clearly recognize his direct responsibility in the unfolding of the attack.
Mr. Netanyahu has also not indicated that he will resign, even as a growing protest movement demands new elections.
The Hamas attack, which took place on the occasion of a Jewish holiday, took Israel and its famous security system by surprise. Israelis’ sense of trust in their military — considered by most Jews to be one of the country’s most trusted institutions — was shattered by the Hamas assault.
The war that began following the attack has claimed more than 34,000 lives among Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians, according to the local Health Ministry. The count does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants, but it specifies that at least two-thirds of the dead are children and women.
The fighting has devastated Gaza’s two largest cities and pushed 80% of the territory’s population to flee to other parts of the besieged coastal enclave. The war led to a humanitarian crisis that gave rise to warnings of imminent famine.