In a rare public acknowledgment of failure, Major General Aharon Haliva, Israel’s outgoing military intelligence chief, took responsibility for the country’s failure to defend its border against Hamas attack that claimed the lives of 1,200 people in the country.
Regretting his inability to lead the military in preventing the attack on October 7, 2023, Haliva, a 38-year veteran of the military, announced his resignation.
He was one of the senior Israeli commanders who admitted their lapses to foresee and prevent the deadliest attack in Israel’s history.
“The failure of the intelligence corps was my fault,” Haliva said at his resignation ceremony on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, he advocated for a national investigation “in order to study” and “understand deeply” the reasons that led to the war between Israel and Hamas.
The Oct. 7 attack badly tarnished the reputation of the Israeli military and intelligence services, previously seen as all but unbeatable by armed Palestinian groups such as Hamas.
In the early hours of the morning of Oct. 7, 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.
The attack resulted in the death of 1,200 Israelis and foreigners, mostly civilians, and about 250 were taken into captivity in Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Currently 109 hostages are believed to still be in Gaza, with approximately one-third thought to be deceased.
The head of the armed forces, Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, and the head of the domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, both accepted responsibility in the aftermath of the attack but have stayed on while the war in Gaza has continued.
