According to a statement released by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Monday, April 22, 2024, Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, the head of Israel’s military intelligence division, has resigned due to failures surrounding the devastating Hamas attack on October 7. Haliva’s resignation marks the first senior figure to step down as a result of the assault, the deadliest in Israel’s history.
The Israeli military has acknowledged that Haliva’s resignation was prompted by the intelligence failure that led to the October 7 invasion by Hamas, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people and ignited the ongoing conflict in Gaza. This image, derived from a video distributed by the Israeli Defense Forces in December 2023, depicts Aharon Haliva, the head of Israel’s military intelligence, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip.
According to the IDF statement, Haliva, the head of military intelligence, submitted his resignation after serving in the position for two and a half years. He is the first high-ranking Israeli official to resign following the attack by Hamas, an Iran-backed organization designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
In the aftermath of the October 7 attack, Haliva acknowledged his responsibility for the failure to prevent the incursion, during which hundreds of armed Hamas fighters swarmed across Gaza’s heavily fortified border with southern Israel, capturing communities and military bases.
“The intelligence division under my command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with,” Haliva stated in his resignation letter, which was released by the IDF. “Until the end of my term, I will do everything in my power to ensure the defeat of Hamas and those who seek to harm us, as well as the safe return of all hostages and captives to their homes and land.”
Recent weeks have seen increasing protests in Israel, with tens of thousands of demonstrators demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government accept responsibility for the events of October 7 and resign. Netanyahu has declined to accept personal responsibility for the intelligence and operational failures that led to the incursion, reiterating that all investigations will be conducted after the war ends.
Over 130 hostages remain captive in Gaza, some of whom are deceased. According to data from the Hamas-run health authority in Gaza, the death toll among Palestinians has surpassed 34,000.
