What happened
Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, the top military intelligence officer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), resigned Monday, becoming the first senior Israeli official to step down over the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
Who said what
The intelligence directorate "under my command failed to warn of the terror attack," Haliva said. We "failed in our most important mission," and "I bear full responsibility for the failure." Haliva's resignation was "justified and honorable," Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said on X. "It would have been appropriate for Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu to do the same."
The commentary
Haliva's resignation "could help restore" some of the faith in Israel's revered military that was "shattered" by the Oct. 7 attack, The Associated Press said. The long-postponed "bitter reckoning" about the "October failure" may finally be "gathering momentum," The New York Times said, adding "pressure on other senior figures," notably Netanyahu, to step down or at least "take greater responsibility for their role in the catastrophe."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Haliva will stay in his position until a replacement is found, the IDF said.
-
Political cartoons for December 14Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a new White House flag, Venezuela negotiations, and more
-
Heavenly spectacle in the wilds of CanadaThe Week Recommends ‘Mind-bending’ outpost for spotting animals – and the northern lights
-
Facial recognition: a revolution in policingTalking Point All 43 police forces in England and Wales are set to be granted access, with those against calling for increasing safeguards on the technology
-
Trump’s Ukraine peace talks advance amid leaked callSpeed Read Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is set to visit Russia next week
-
Memo signals Trump review of 233k refugeesSpeed Read The memo also ordered all green card applications for the refugees to be halted
-
Pentagon targets Kelly over ‘illegal orders’ videoSpeed Read The Pentagon threatened to recall Kelly to active duty
-
Judge tosses Trump DOJ cases against Comey, JamesSpeed Read Both cases could potentially be brought again
-
US, Kyiv report progress on shifting Ukraine peace planSpeed Read The deal ‘must fully uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty,’ the countries said
-
Comey grand jury never saw final indictmentSpeed Read This ‘drove home just how slapdash’ the case is, said The New York Times
-
Summers out at Harvard, OpenAI amid Epstein furorSpeed Read Summers was part of a group being investigated by Harvard for Epstein ties
-
Trump ordered to fully fund SNAPSpeed Read The Justice Department is appealing the decision
