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Israeli military chief of staff resigns over failure to prevent October 7 attack

Israeli Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi attends a wreath-laying ceremony in Jerusalem on May 6. Amir Cohen/Reuters

Israeli Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi attends a wreath-laying ceremony in Jerusalem on May 6. Amir Cohen/Reuters

CNN — Israel’s military chief of staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, has said he will resign in March over the failure to prevent the October 7 attack.

In a letter to Israel’s prime minister and defense minister released by the military, Halevi said: “As a result of my responsibility for the IDF’s failure on October 7, and at a time when the military has recorded exceptional achievements in restoring Israel’s deterrence and strength, I wish to conclude my tenure on March 6, 2025.”

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz had given Halevi a deadline of January 30 to complete internal military probes into the failure to prevent Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack.

Halevi’s resignation marks the highest-profile departure of an Israeli official linked to the security establishment’s failures on October 7. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declined to take responsibility for those failures, stating that accountability will come only after the war.

In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said that Netanyahu spoke with Halevi on Tuesday and “thanked the Chief of Staff for his long service and his command of the IDF.”

The resignation comes just days after a ceasefire with Hamas went into effect in Gaza. Discussions for a permanent end to the war are, under the agreement, meant to begin February 4.

“On the morning of October 7, under my command, the IDF failed in its mission to protect the citizens of Israel,” Halevi wrote. “The State of Israel paid a heavy and painful price in lives lost, in those taken hostage, in the wounded – both physically and mentally.”

The military chief had also been under pressure from Israel’s far-right nationalist ministers, who viewed him as unable or unwilling to carry out their maximalist vision for war in Gaza and the West Bank.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich toyed with the idea of resigning from government over his opposition to the Gaza ceasefire, but decided to remain after saying he had received assurances from Netanyahu to continue Israel’s military operations.

The Commanding Officer of the Israel’s Southern Command, Major General Yaron Finkelman, also submitted his resignation, saying that he had “failed in protecting the western Negev and its beloved, heroic residents” on October 7.

Author: Eugenia Yosef, Mick Krever and Jeremy Diamond, CNN

Source: CNN:::

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