Israel’s military intelligence chief resigns over failure to prevent Oct. 7 attack

Israel’s military intelligence chief resigned on Monday over the failed Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, the military said, becoming the first senior figure to resign over his role in the deadliest attack in Israel’s history.

The resignation of Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva sets the stage for what Israel’s top security official expects to be a bigger fallout from Hamas’ attacks, after the militants blew up Israel’s border defenses and moved in without resistance within hours. Rampant in Israeli communities, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, while occupying Israel. About 250 hostages entered Gaza. That attack sparked Gaza’s war against Hamas, now in its seventh month.

“The Intelligence Bureau under my command failed to complete the tasks we were given. Since then, I have carried that black day with me, day after day, night after night. I will bear this pain forever.” Haliva wrote in a resignation letter provided by the military.

Shortly after the war, Haliva publicly stated that he, as head of the military branch responsible for providing intelligence warnings and daily alerts to the government and military, was responsible for failing to prevent the attacks.

The military said in a statement that the chief of military staff accepted Haliva’s resignation and thanked him for his service.

Haliva and other military and security leaders are widely expected to resign in response to the apparent failure and scale of the events leading up to the October 7 events.

But the timing of the resignation was unclear as Israel is still fighting Hamas in Gaza and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in the north. Tensions are also high with Iran following the attack between the two foes.

While Haliva and others acknowledged responsibility for failing to prevent the attacks, others were quick to pull back, most notably Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said he would answer tough questions about his role but There was no full admission of direct responsibility for allowing the attack to unfold. He has also given no indication that he will step down.

Hamas’s attack took place on a Jewish holiday, catching Israel and its self-proclaimed security apparatus completely unprepared. Israelis’ confidence in the military – regarded by most Jews as one of the country’s most trusted institutions – collapsed in the face of Hamas’s onslaught. Resigning may help restore some trust.

The attack sparked a devastating war that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza, at least two-thirds of them children and women, according to local health officials. It destroyed Gaza’s two largest cities and forced 80 percent of the territory’s population to flee to other parts of the besieged coastal enclave. The war caused a humanitarian disaster and prompted warnings of impending famine.

The attack also sent shockwaves through the region. Tensions rock the Israeli-occupied West Bank as well as towns within Israel.

A car plowed into pedestrians in Jerusalem, slightly injuring three people, Israeli police said on Monday, and surveillance footage showed two men getting out of the car with rifles before fleeing the scene. Police later said they arrested two men.