Chief of Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate Aharon Haliva announced resignation on Monday over role in October 7 failures.
Maj.-Gen. Aharon Haliva, has retired from the Israeli military after leaving a letter of resignation on the desk of Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Israeli media reported.
In a statement, the Israeli military said: “The head of the Intelligence Division, Major General Aharon Haliva, in coordination with the Chief of Staff, requested to end his position following his command responsibility as head of the National Security Agency in the events of October 7.”
“Major General Aharon Haliva stated in his request his great appreciation for the actions of the IDF officers during the war,” read the Israeli military statement.
General Haliva is said to have served 38 years in the Israeli army. He is the first senior officer in the occupation army to resign over the October 7 attack
In his resignation letter addressed to Halevi in Hebrew, Haliva wrote that “along with authority comes heavy responsibility.”
“The Intelligence Directorate under my command did not fulfill its task. I have carried that black day with me ever since, every day, every night. I will forever bear the terrible pain of the war,” he said in the letter, as cited by The Times of Israel.
Haliva said he supports the establishment of a commission of inquiry to “be able to investigate and find out in a thorough, in-depth, comprehensive and precise manner all the factors and circumstances that led to the grave events.”
Also in his letter, Haliva stated that he would like to take responsibility for what happened on October 7 and promised “to do his best to complete as many of the war’s goals as possible.”
These goals include “reestablishing military dominance in the north and south of the Gaza Strip, deterring further threats from Iran and other foreign enemies, and returning the hostages,” according to The Jerusalem Post.
As time passed since October 7, calls for Haliva to resign from the public increased as well, Israeli media reported, noting that this was mainly due to two factors.
JPost elaborated on the two factors, saying: “The increasing passing of time since the October 7 attack and the recent military intelligence blunder in which the IDF miscalculated Iran’s response to the strike that killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps official Mohammad Reza Zahedi.”
Responses to Haliva’s Resignation
Commenting on Haliva’s step, Israeli opposition Leader Yair Lapid called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to follow the example set by Haliva, suggesting he should resign over the failures surrounding the October 7 Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
Commending Haliva for his “justified and respected” decision to resign from his position once a replacement is appointed, Lapid wrote on X that “Prime Minister Netanyahu should have done the same.”
Earlier on MOnday, Yesh Atid MK Vladimir Beliak issued a similar call, saying that Netanyahu “must resign immediately” regardless of whether or not a state commission of inquiry is established to examine the events surrounding October 7.
Source: Israeli media
