Israel’s top general resigned on Tuesday, citing the security and intelligence failures related to Hamas’ surprise attack that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.
Israel meanwhile launched a large military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday that the Palestinian Health Ministry said had killed at least six people and wounded 35.
Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi is the most senior Israeli figure to resign over the security breakdown on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led militants carried out a land, sea and air assault into southern Israel, rampaging through army bases and nearby communities for hours.
The attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. More than 90 captives are still being held in Gaza, around a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Halevi had also appeared to be at odds with Israel’s new defence minister, Israel Katz, over the direction of the war, with Halevi saying Israel had accomplished most of its goals and Katz echoing Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow to keep fighting until “total victory” over Hamas.
In his letter of resignation, Halevi said the military, under his command, had “failed in its mission to defend the State of Israel” when Hamas attacked but had made “significant achievements” in the ensuing war, which rippled across the Middle East.