Israel’s top general has resigned, citing the security and intelligence failures related to the surprise attack by Hamas that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip.
Israel, meanwhile, launched a large military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday that the Palestinian Health Ministry said had killed at least nine people and wounded 40.
Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi is the most senior Israeli figure to resign over the security breakdown on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led militants carried out a land, sea and air assault into southern Israel, rampaging through army bases and nearby communities for hours.
The attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. More than 90 captives are still being held in Gaza, around a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Mr Halevi’s resignation came just days into a fragile ceasefire with Hamas that could lead to an end to the war and the return of the remaining captives. Major General Yaron Finkelman, head of Israel’s Southern Command, which oversees operations in Gaza, also tendered his resignation.
The resignation of the two senior generals will likely add to calls for a public inquiry into the October 7 failures, something Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – whose leadership could be implicated – has said must wait until the war is over.
Mr Halevi had also appeared to be at odds with Israel’s new defence minister, Israel Katz, over the direction of the war, with Mr Halevi saying Israel had accomplished most of its goals and Mr Katz echoing Mr Netanyahu’s vow to keep fighting until “total victory” over Hamas.
In his letter of resignation, Mr Halevi said the military, under his command, had “failed in its mission to defend the State of Israel” when Hamas attacked but had made “significant achievements” in the ensuing war.
Mr Halevi, who began what was meant to be a three-year term in January 2023, said his resignation would go into effect on March 6.
Israel, meanwhile, announced a “significant and broad military operation” against Palestinian militants in Jenin. The city has seen repeated Israeli incursions and gun battles with militants in recent years, even before the October 7 2023 attack started the war in Gaza.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least nine people were killed and 40 wounded. It does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its tally.
Separately on Tuesday, Israel’s emergency rescue service said four people were stabbed and wounded in Tel Aviv in what police described as a terror attack. Police said the unidentified attacker was killed.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in 1967. The Palestinians seek an independent state encompassing all three territories.
The ceasefire does not apply to the West Bank, which has seen a surge of violence since the start of the war. Israeli troops have carried out almost daily raids that often prompt gun battles.
There has also been a rise in attacks on Palestinians by Jewish extremists – including a rampage in two Palestinian villages overnight on Monday – as well as Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
Hamas condemned the Israeli operation in Jenin, calling on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank to step up their own attacks.
The smaller and more radical Islamic Jihad militant group also condemned the operation, saying it reflected Israel’s “failure to achieve its goals in Gaza”. It said it was also a “desperate attempt” by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to save his governing coalition.
Mr Netanyahu has faced criticism from his far-right allies over the ceasefire, which required Israeli troops to pull back from populated areas in Gaza and envisions the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including militants convicted of involvement in deadly attacks on Israelis.
The ceasefire has already seen Hamas return to the streets, showing that it remains in firm control of the territory despite 15 months of war that killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused widespread devastation.
One of his erstwhile partners, Itamar Ben-Gvir, quit the government the day the ceasefire went into effect, weakening the coalition but still leaving Mr Netanyahu with a parliamentary majority. Another, far-right leader, finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, has threatened to resign if Israel does not resume the war after the first phase of the ceasefire ends in six weeks.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel from Gaza, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. More than 90 captives are still being held in Gaza, around a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health authorities, who say women and children make up more than half of the deaths but do not say how many of the dead were fighters.
