Israel army chief resigns citing his military failures

Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi (R). (Photo/Reuters)

The Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi has announced that he will resign in March, citing military failure in preventing the October 7 attack.

In a statement, Halevi said he notified Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz that he intends to resign on March 6.

His resignation will come about 10 months earlier than the standard three-year term after serving two years and two months in office.

In his resignation letter, released by the army, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said he was stepping down "due to my acknowledgement of responsibility for the (military's) failure on October 7."

He acknowledged, however, that the goals of the Gaza war "have not all been achieved."

Shortly after his announcement, Major General Yaron Finkelman also resigned. Finkelman headed Israel's southern military command, which is responsible for Gaza.

"On Oct. 7, 2023, I failed to defend the western Negev, and this failure will remain engraved in my mind for the rest of my life,” Finkelman said in his resignation letter.

Gaza falls under the army’s Southern Command.

'Disastrous government'

The resignations come on the third day of a ceasefire and prisoner swap deal that took effect on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Following the resignations, former Defence Minister and leader of Yisrael Beiteinu Party, Avigdor Lieberman, called on the Israeli government to resign.

The current right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been in power since late December 2022.

"Respect to Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, and now the Prime Minister and his entire disastrous government must take responsibility and resign," opposition leader Yair Lapid said on his X account.

Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected opposition calls for early elections for over a year and refused to take any responsibility for the October 7 attack.

Several Israeli officials have resigned over the October 7 failures, most notably the head of the Israeli Army Intelligence Directorate, Aharon Haliva.

___

Source: TRT