Egypt Daily News – IDF Chief of Staff Hertz Halevi submitted his resignation, which he said would take effect on March 6.
In a letter to the Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister, Halevi said: “As a result of my responsibility for the IDF’s failure on October 7, and at a time when the army has recorded exceptional achievements in restoring Israel’s deterrent power, I would like to end my term on March 6, 2025.”
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz had given Halevy a deadline of January 30 to complete internal military investigations into the failure to prevent a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.
Halevi’s resignation marks the departure of a high-ranking Israeli official linked to the failures of the security establishment on October 7. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to take responsibility for these failures, indicating that accountability would not come until after the war.
Halevi’s resignation comes a few days after the ceasefire agreement with Hamas in Gaza took effect. Discussions to end the war permanently, under the agreement, are supposed to begin on February 4.
“On the morning of October 7, under my leadership, the IDF failed in its mission to protect the citizens of Israel,” Halevy wrote in his letter. “The State of Israel has paid a heavy and painful price in the lives lost, in those taken hostage, and in the wounded – Physically and mentally.”
The Israeli chief of staff had been under pressure from far-right nationalist ministers in Israel, who considered him unable or unwilling to implement their hard-line vision for the war in Gaza and the West Bank.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had considered resigning from the government, due to his opposition to the ceasefire in Gaza, but decided to stay after he said that he had received assurances from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue Israeli military operations.
The commander of Israel’s Southern Command, Major General Yaron Finkelman, also tendered his resignation, saying he had “failed to protect the Western Negev and its heroic, beloved residents” on October 7.
