Admission of guilt for what happened last October 7 and resignation. Aharon Halivahead of Israeli military intelligence, is resigned for the flaws related to the attack of Hamas of October 7 in the south of Israel. Haliva had already taken responsibility for the mistakes he made about a week and a half after the outbreak of the war. His move could now create a significant earthquake for Tel Aviv, creating the conditions for other Israeli security leaders to make a mea culpa for not having averted the raid by the pro-Palestinian group and take a step back.
The resignation of the head of military intelligence
If it wasn’t a real bolt from the blue, it was close. Yes, because Haliva, despite being the first high-level Israeli figure to resign in relation to the Hamas blitz, had publicly taken on the responsibility for what happened, having failed to prevent the attack that effectively breached Israel’s defenses. For the record, that attack would have caused 1,200 victims, mostly civilians, and the taking of around 250 other people hostage, as well as triggering Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip which has now been going on for over 6 months, and where there are over 34 thousand deaths.
According to what was reported by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the chief of staff accepted Haliva’s request to resign and thanked him for his service. “We did not fulfill our task. Since then I have carried that black day with me, day and night. I will carry the terrible pain of war with me forever“, wrote Haliva himself in a letter addressed to the aforementioned Chief of Staff, however asking for the establishment of one commission of inquiry. In the letter to the lieutenant general Herzi Halevi, Haliva did not specify what he did wrong. It is not clear when the resignation will become effective because now Israel must find a substitute.
What happens in Israel
As he wrote Washington Post, Haliva – as well as other military and security leaders – was expected to resign in response to the glaring failures that led to October 7 and those that made the attack so devastating. But the timing of the resignation is unclear, because Israel is still fighting Hamas in Gaza and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in the north. Not to mention the skyrocketing tension with Iran after the attacks the two rival countries exchanged. It remains to be seen, as mentioned, who will replace Haliva and when the change will become effective.
Haliva, unlike Benjamin Netanyahu and other relevant figures in Israel’s political and military system, admitted his responsibility for the mistakes that allowed Hamas to breach Israel’s defenses.
“In all my visits to units of the Military Intelligence Directorate over the past 11 days I have sat down and emphasized that the start of the war was an intelligence failure“, explained the now former head of military intelligence in Tel Aviv last October.”The Military Intelligence Directorate, under my command, did not warn of the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas. We have failed in our most important mission, and as head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, I take full responsibility for the failure“, Haliva then added.
Who has now resigned, sending a very strong signal to the whole country.
Tags: Hamas attack military intelligence resigns wasnt task
