Top Israeli general to resign over Oct. 7 failures

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi

(Image credit: Israeli Prime Minister's Office / Handout / Anadolu via Getty Images)

published 22 January 2025

What happened

Israel's military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, announced his resignation Tuesday, citing failures to prevent the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks that sparked Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza. The head of the Israeli Defense Forces' Southern Command, which oversees Gaza operations, also resigned.

"My responsibility for the terrible failure accompanies me every day, every hour and will for the rest of my life," Halevi said in his resignation letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Halevi is the "most senior Israeli figure to resign over the security and intelligence breakdown on Oct. 7," The Associated Press said. His departure, effective March 6, is "adding pressure" on Netanyahu to also step aside and support a "public inquiry into the Oct. 7 failures."

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The 15-month Gaza war is paused under a fragile ceasefire agreement set to include a second round of hostage releases on Saturday. But Tuesday Israel launched what Netanyahu called a "large-scale and significant military operation" in the West Bank, killing at least nine Palestinians and wounding 35. Hours earlier, President Donald Trump lifted sanctions on West Bank "ultranationalist Israeli settlers who attacked Palestinian villages," Reuters said.

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.