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Major General Aharon Haliva was one of a number of senior
Israeli commanders who said they had failed to foresee and
prevent the most devastating attack in Israel's history.
"The intelligence division under my command did not live up to
the task we were entrusted with. I have carried that black day
with me ever since," he said in a resignation letter released by
the military.
During the Oct. 7 attack, thousands of fighters from Hamas and
other groups broke through the high tech security barriers
around Gaza, surprising Israeli forces and rampaging through the
communities around the enclave.
Some 1,200 Israelis and foreigners were killed in the attack,
most of them civilians, and around 250 were taken into captivity
in Gaza, where 133 remain as hostages.
The attack badly tarnished the reputation of the Israeli
military and intelligence services, previously seen as virtually
unbeatable.
The head of the armed forces, Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi,
and the head of the domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet, Ronen
Bar, both accepted responsibility in the aftermath of the attack
but have stayed on while the war in Gaza has continued.
By contrast, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far not
accepted responsibility, although surveys indicate that most
Israelis blame him for failing to do enough to prevent or defend
against the attack.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Toby Chopra and Peter
Graff)
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