The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth says that there are other senior officers, at least four of whom with colonel rank, at the level of commanders of field units who informed their colleagues that they intend to resign.
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An IOF troop covers his face as he walks during clashes with Palestinian protesters, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Monday, Feb. 13, 2012 (AP)
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said that the resignation of the head of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate Aman, Aharon Haliva, “will not be the last” among senior occupation officers as it mentioned a “domino effect.”
It added that Haliva was the first member of the Israeli military General Staff to resign due to failures on October 7.
The Israeli newspaper revealed that there are other senior officers, at least four of whom with colonel rank, at the level of commanders of field units who informed their colleagues that they intend to resign. It added that the Gaza Division Commander, Brigadier General Avi Rosenfeld is one of them.
Another general from the General Staff, the head of the Strategy and Iran Divison, who led the Gaza Division and then took over the Southern Command, Eliezer Toledano, has not made any public appearance over the past six months, it said.
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahranoth explained that this dilemma for possible future resignations is related to timing as these resignations may hasten the end of the Israeli war on Gaza especially amid the withdrawal of most IOF troops from Gaza in recent weeks.
The resignation of Haliva and other senior officials puts the Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in a dilemma as it will be difficult for him to reassemble the General Staff and then resign, the newspaper mentioned.
It added that there are two other main candidates for the head of staff position other than Halevi. The first one is the commander of the Northern Command, Ori Gordin, currently a brigade officer, and the second is the general director of the Ministry of Security, Major General Eyal Zamir even though he was the commander of the Southern Command in the middle of the past decade.
The Israeli newspaper added that another factor will affect the timing of resignations and that is the war investigations into IOF staff that recently revealed that dozens of senior officers, who were at the center of decision-making regarding Gaza, have been seeking legal advice.
In an interview with the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, the commander of the 36th Division Brigadier, General Dadu Bar Khalifa, confessed to one of the biggest Israeli failures in its war against Gaza as he said that the leaders of the Southern Command, including Halevi, did not work on any plans for a full maneuver in Gaza emphasizing that the operational plans prepared and implemented were reduced and limited.
Israeli intel chief resigns over resounding October 7 failure
The head of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate, Aman, Major General Aharon Haliva, submitted his resignation to the Office of the Israeli Chief of Staff on April 22, accepting responsibility for the Israeli military’s failure on October 7, 2023.
According to the Israeli news website Walla!, Haliva is expected to leave his position in the coming weeks and will be likely replaced by Lieutenant Colonel Shlomi Binder. Aman has been subject to a series of harrowing controversies and internal discord, stemming from the organization’s failure to expect and warn against the Palestinian Resistance’s Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, which took place on the dawn of October 7 last year.
Later, Israeli occupation forces confirmed that Haliva had submitted his resignation.
“Major General Aharon Haliva, in coordination with the chief of the general staff, has requested to end his position, following his leadership responsibility as the head of the intelligence directorate for the events of October 7,” the occupation’s military said in a statement.
“It was decided that MG Aharon Haliva will end his position and retire from the IDF, once his successor is appointed in an orderly and professional process,” the statement added.
Previously, the military intelligence body was considered to be a leader in the field of intel gathering and analysis, providing Israeli occupation forces with the necessary information to carry out their operations.
