JERUSALEM: Israel’s army chief Herzi Halevi said on Tuesday (Jan 16) he would resign on March 6, taking responsibility for the massive security lapse on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian Hamas gunmen from Gaza carried out a cross-border attack on Israel.
Halevi, who had been widely expected to step down in the wake of the deadliest single day in Israel’s history, said he would complete the Israel Defence Forces’ inquiries into October 7 and strengthen the IDF’s readiness for security challenges. It was not immediately clear who would replace Halevi, who said he would transfer the IDF command to a yet-to-be-named successor.
Despite public anger over October 7, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has resisted calls to open a state inquiry into its own responsibility for the security breach that resulted in 1,200 Israelis killed and about 250 hostages taken.
“On the morning of October 7, the IDF failed in its mission to protect the citizens of Israel,” Halevi wrote in his resignation letter to Defence Minister Israel Katz.
Israel, he added, paid a heavy price in terms of human lives and those kidnapped and wounded in “body and soul”.
“My responsibility for the terrible failure accompanies me every day, hour by hour, and will do so for the rest of my life,” said Halevi, a military veteran of four decades.
