Israeli media and analysts anticipate further resignations once the main military operations in Gaza conclude.
The head of Israeli military intelligence resigned on Monday, after taking full responsibility for the lapses that led to the military operation carried out by the Palestinian Resistance on October 7.
Major General Aharon Haliva, a 38-year veteran of the military, acknowledged his division’s failure to anticipate and prevent the attack, Reuters news agency reported.
“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 reportedly stated in a resignation letter released by the military.
The head of Israeli military intelligence Major General Aharon Haliva has resigned. pic.twitter.com/EBcXjIDZLv
— Dr. Syed Mohd Murtaza (@syedmohdmurtaza) April 22, 2024
Haliva will continue in his role until a successor is appointed. Israeli media and analysts anticipate further resignations once the main military operations in Gaza conclude.
The October 7 operation severely damaged the reputation of the Israeli military and intelligence services.
On that day, during the early morning hours, following an intense rocket barrage, thousands of fighters from the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas and other groups breached security barriers around Gaza, catching Israeli forces off guard and causing havoc in southern Israel.
While the head of the armed forces, Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevy, and the head of the domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, accepted responsibility, they have retained their positions during the ongoing war on Gaza.
Netanyahu Must Resign
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has not yet accepted responsibility for the attack, despite a majority of Israelis attributing blame to him for not taking sufficient measures to prevent or defend against it.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called on Monday for Netanyahu’s resignation following Haliva’s move.
“The resignation of the military intelligence chief is justified and honorable. It would have been appropriate for Prime Minister Netanyahu to do the same,”’ Lapid wrote on X.
״לצד הסמכות מונחת אחריות כבדה״. פרישת ראש אמ״ן מוצדקת ומכובדת. ראוי היה שראש הממשלה נתניהו יעשה כמוהו.
— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) April 22, 2024
A recent poll showed that two-thirds of Israelis doubt Netanyahu’s assertion that the country is close to achieving victory in the ongoing Gaza war, according to Israeli Channel 13.
Additionally, the poll found that 63 percent of respondents support holding early elections.
Gaza Genocide
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,151 Palestinians have been killed, and 77,084 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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