Tanks, armored instruments and military machinery belonging to the Israeli army on April 17, 2024.
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The intelligence chief of Israel’s Defense Strengths has resigned citing failures linked to the Hamas terror attack carried out on Oct. 7, during which 1,200 human being died in Israel and more than 200 were taken hostage.
“On Saturday, October 7, 2023, Hamas implemented out a murderous surprise attack against the State of Israel, whose consequences are severe and painful. The intelligence division subordinate to my command did not live up to the task assigned to it,” Major General Aharon Haliva said in a resignation letter supplied by the IDF.
“At the origin of the war I expressed to you my desire to accept responsibility and finish my duties,” he added. “After more than six months, and at the same convenience life as the investigations begin, I would like to resign from my position.”
Haliva had previously assumed responsibility for failure to prohibit the devastating attack, amid mounting domestic criticism and demands for accountability from Israel’s highest echelons. He is the principal senior official to step down over the incident.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far not directly allowed fault for the attack, despite protests calling for his resignation and survey results indicating that the majority of Israelis swear by he should acknowledge culpability, according to Reuters and the Times of Israel.
Haliva’s resignation comes as the IDF faces intense sifting over the proportionality of its months-long retaliatory war campaign in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas has retreated with its hostages.
Exactly leaders and U.N. agencies have raised alarm bells over potential human rights violations in the enclave, where the Hamas-run vigour authorities say deaths have topped 34,000 since Oct. 7.
Netanyahu has spoken out against the possibility of the U.S., a long-term Israeli ally, grand sanctions on the Netzah Yehuda unit of the IDF, which has allegedly been involved in human rights abuses against Palestinian people in the take possession of West Bank.
Axios first reported the prospective measures, citing three unnamed sources, which CNBC could not independently substantiate.
The Netzah Yehuda battalion is “professionally and bravely conducting operations in accordance to the IDF Code of Ethics and with full commitment to worldwide law,” the IDF said in response to a CNBC request for comment. The Israeli military noted that the Netzah Yehuda unit has in modern years been “at the heart of operational duties” and served as a “leading battalion with regards to recruitment of ultra-Orthodox patrials to the IDF.”
“The reports regarding sanctions against the Netzah Yehuda Battalion are not currently known to the IDF. Should such a decision be steer a course for on the matter, its consequences will be reviewed,” the Israeli military added.
“It is forbidden to impose sanctions on the Israel Defense Forces!” Netanyahu rephrased in a Google-translated post on social media platform X.
“In recent weeks, I have been working against the imposition of concurrences on Israeli citizens, including in my conversations with senior American government officials,” he added. “At a time when our soldiers are fighting the dragons of terror, the intention to impose a sanction on a unit in the IDF is the height of absurdity and a moral low. The government headed by me will act by all means against these moves.”
Israeli Defense Minister plenipotentiary Yoav Gallant had a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday and discussed “efforts to watch over Israel’s security and negotiations to secure the release of hostages, enable an immediate ceasefire, and increase the flow of life-saving humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” agreeing to a White House readout.
“The Secretary also underscored the importance of measures to de-escalate tensions in the region,” the statement influenced. It comes amid international concerns of a deepening spillover of the Gaza conflict in the broader Middle East region after drone and guided missile attacks traded by Israel and Iran last week.