Israeli military intelligence chief resigns over failure to prevent October 7 Hamas attack

An Israeli soldier walks by a pickup truck used by Palestinian militants in the attacks on October 7, 2023, in Sderot, Israel. Photo / AP

The head of Israel’s military intelligence directorate resigned today over the failures surrounding Hamas’ unprecedented October 7 attack, the military said, becoming the first senior figure to step down over his role in the deadliest assault in Israel’s history.

Major General Aharon Haliva’s resignation sets the stage for what’s expected to be more fallout from Israel’s top security brass over Hamas’ attack, when militants blasted through Israel’s border defences, rampaged through Israeli communities unchallenged for hours and killed 1200 people, mostly civilians, while taking roughly 250 hostages into Gaza. That attack set off the war against Hamas in Gaza, now in its seventh month.

The military said in a statement that Haliva had asked to end his service “following his leadership responsibility”. Shortly after the war, Haliva had publicly said he shouldered blame for not preventing the assault as the head of the military department responsible for providing the government and the military with intelligence warnings and daily alerts.

The statement said the military chief of staff accepted Haliva’s request to resign and thanked him for his service.

An Israeli soldier walks by a pickup truck used by Palestinian militants in Sderot, Israel, on October 7, 2023. Photo / AP

Haliva and other military and security leaders were widely expected to resign in response to the glaring failures that led up to October 7 and those that made it such a devastating attack.

But the timing of the resignations is unclear because Israel is still fighting Hamas in Gaza and battling the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in the north. Tensions with Iran are also at a high following attacks between the two enemies.

While Haliva and others have accepted blame for failing to stop the attack, others have stopped short, most notably Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has said he will answer tough questions about his role but has not outright acknowledged any responsibility for allowing the attack to unfold.