The senior general stepped down over the army’s ‘failure’ during the October 7 attacks
January 21, 2025 14:09
ByJC Reporter, Jewish News Syndicate
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen Herzi Halevi has informed Defence Minister Israel Katz that he will be resigning as of March, according to Israeli media.
Halevi, who succeeded Lt. Gen Aviv Kochavi in January 2023, said his decision to step down stemmed from his "responsibility for the IDF's failure" during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, cross-border massacre, in which terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
"At this juncture, when the IDF has recorded significant achievements and is in the process of implementing a deal to release the hostages, I request to end my position on March 6, 2025," Halevi wrote to Katz.
The chief of staff vowed in the letter to transfer his command of the military "in a qualitative and thorough manner" to his successor.
With his resignation, Halevi will become the shortest-serving permanent IDF chief of staff since Dan Halutz, who stepped down from the role after just 20 months following the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.
Israel's Kan News public broadcaster noted that Halevi requested that he be allowed to remain in post until after the first 42-day phase of the current hostage deal with Hamas, which is expected to end on March 1.
Hamas's October 7 assault—the deadliest single-day attack in the Jewish state’s history and the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust—led to a multi-front war against Iran’s proxies and militant allies in the region.
The military's intelligence lapses prior to the terror attack, as well as its failure to swiftly repel the mass infiltration from Gaza, has prompted a flurry of resignations in the IDF, including by top officials.
It comes after Halevi confirmed that he was instructing troops to prepare for “significant operations” in the West Bank.
Hinting at the possibility of further terror attacks in the territory, he said: “Along with the intense defence preparations in the Gaza Strip, we must be prepared for significant operations in [the West Bank] in the coming days in order to preempt and catch the terrorists before they reach our civilians.”
Moreover, he also ordered senior generals to “formulate plans for the continuation of the fighting, both in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon” in case the ceasefire deal falls apart.
Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu has been under pressure from far-right parties in his coalition to resume the Gaza War and has even himself referred to the current pause in fighting as “temporary”.