The head of Israeli military intelligence, Major General Aharon Haliva, has resigned after admiting failure to prevent the deadliest attack in Israel’s history.
The 38-year veteran of the military accepted responsibility for the failures that allowed the devastating Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, the military said on Monday.
Haliva, who was one of the senior Israeli commanders, according to Reuters, explained that they had failed to foresee and prevent the deadliest attack in Israel’s record.
“The intelligence division under my command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with. I have carried that black day with me ever since,” he said in a resignation letter released by the military.
He will remain in post until a successor is named. Israeli media and commentators expect further resignations once the main military campaign in Gaza wraps up.
The October 7 attack badly tarnished the reputation of the Israeli military and intelligence services, previously seen as virtually unbeatable by armed Palestinian groups like Hamas.
In the early hours of the morning, following an intense rocket barrage, thousands of fighters from Hamas and other groups broke through security barriers around Gaza, surprising Israeli forces and rampaging through communities in southern Israel.
Some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed in the attack, most of them civilians, and around 250 were taken into captivity in Gaza, where 133 remain as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
In response to the attack, Israel launched an offensive against Gaza that has so far killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, and left the densely populated enclave in ruins.
