Israeli military intel head resigns over Hamas attack

JERUSALEM, April 22

The head of Israeli military intelligence has resigned after accepting responsibility for the failures that allowed the devastating Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, the military said on Monday.

Major General Aharon Haliva, a 38-year veteran of the military, was one of the senior Israeli commanders who said they had failed to foresee and prevent the deadliest attack in Israel’s history.

Didn’t live up to task

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. —Maj Gen Aharon Haliva, Israeli Commander

“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, and around 250 were taken into captivity in Gaza, where 133 remain as hostages.

Halevi and the head of the domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, both accepted responsibility in the aftermath of the attack. — Reuters