The leader of Israel’s military intelligence quit on Monday because of the mistakes in dealing with Hamas’ big attack on October 7. This is the first important person to leave their job because of their part in the worst attack ever in Israel.
Maj Gen Aharon Haliva resigned because of Hamas’ attack. More top security officials in Israel might also resign. The attack by militants breached Israel’s border defences, and they went through Israeli communities without being stopped for hours. They killed 1,200 people, most of them were civilians, and took about 250 hostages into Gaza. The attack started the war with Hamas in Gaza, which has been going on for seven months.
“My team didn’t do a good job on the task we were given. ” I cannot forget that bad day. I think about it every day and every night. “I will always have the terrible pain from the war with me,” Haliva wrote in his resignation letter from the military.
Haliva, along with other military and security leaders, were expected to quit because of the big mistakes that happened on Oct 7 and how intense it was.
But it’s not clear when the resignations will happen because Israel is still fighting with Hamas in Gaza and battling with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in the north. Relations are very tense between Iran and its enemy after they attacked each other. Some military experts believe that quitting when Israel is fighting on different fronts is not a good decision and could make Israel look weak.
Soon after the attack, Haliva said that he takes responsibility for not stopping the assault because he is in charge of giving the government and military important information to keep them safe.
Haliva and others have taken responsibility for not stopping the attack, but others like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have not fully admitted their role in allowing the attack to happen. He said he will answer tough questions but has not directly accepted responsibility. He hasn’t said he will resign, even though people are protesting for elections to happen soon.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said he’s glad the person resigned and thinks it was the right thing to do.
“He said Prime Minister Netanyahu should also do that,” he wrote on X, which used to be called Twitter.
Hamas surprised Israel and its strong security by attacking on a Jewish holiday. Most Jews in Israel trust their military, but that trust was broken when Hamas attacked. The resignation might help build back some of the trust.
The attack started a really bad war that has killed over 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza, as reported by the local health ministry. The government’s report doesn’t separate fighters from non-fighters, but it says at least two-thirds of the people who died are children and women.
The war has caused a lot of damage in Gaza’s two biggest cities. 80% of the people there have had to leave and go to other parts of the area. The fighting has led to a big problem with people not having enough food, and people are saying that a famine might happen soon.
The attack also caused a lot of fear and concern in the area. Apart from Hezbollah and Iran, there is also tension in the area controlled by Israel in the West Bank, as well as in cities and towns within Israel.
Israeli police said a car hit people in Jerusalem on Monday and injured three lightly. A security camera showed two men leaving the car with a rifle before running away. The police said they took the two men into custody.