TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) – Israel's military intelligence chief resigned Monday over the issue. failure surrounding Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attackThe military announced that he was the first senior official to resign for his role in the worst attack in Israel's history.
Maj. Gen. Aharon Hariba's resignation comes as the militants breached Israel's border defenses and rampaged through Israeli communities unopposed for hours, inflicting massive casualties, killing 1,200 people, most of them could set the stage for further resignations among Israel's top security officials over Hamas attacks on civilians. 250 hostages were thrown into Gaza. The attack was triggered by War with Hamas in Gazacurrently in its 7th month.
“The Intelligence Bureau under my command did not carry out the mission entrusted to us. I have carried that dark day with me every day and night ever since. I will forever carry the terrible pain of war. I intend to hold on,” Hariba wrote in a resignation letter provided by the military.
Hariba and other military and security leaders were widely expected to resign in the wake of the apparent failures and the scale of their ferocity leading up to October 7.
But the timing of his resignation is unclear, as Israel continues to fight Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in the north. Tensions with Iran are also rising following attacks between the two countries. Some military experts say stepping down at a time when Israel is fighting on multiple fronts is irresponsible and could be interpreted as a sign of weakness.
Immediately after the attack, Hariba publicly stated that as head of the military department responsible for providing intelligence alerts and daily alerts to the government and military, he was responsible for failing to prevent the attack.
While Hariba and others have accepted responsibility for failing to stop the attack, others have been quick to stand back, most notably Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has said he will answer tough questions about his role. Although it is stated, does not fully admit direct responsibility This is because they allowed the attack to develop. He has also shown no intention of resigning, despite growing protests calling for early elections.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid welcomed the resignation, calling it “just and dignified.”
“It would be appropriate for Prime Minister Netanyahu to do the same,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The Hamas attack, which occurred on a Jewish holiday, caught Israel and its vaunted security apparatus completely by surprise. Israeli faith in the Israeli military, seen by most Jews as one of the country's most trusted institutions, was shattered in the face of Hamas's onslaught. Resignation may help restore some of that trust.
The attack sparked a devastating war that left more than 34,000 Palestinians dead in Gaza, according to the local health ministry. Although the ministry's tally does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants, it does at least state the following: Two-thirds of the dead were children and women.
The fighting has left Gaza's two largest cities in ruins, with 80% of the Gaza Strip's population fleeing to other parts of the besieged coastal enclave. The war has caused a humanitarian catastrophe and prompted warnings of impending famine.
The attack also sent shockwaves through the region. Beyond Hezbollah and Iran, tensions are rocking the Israeli-occupied West Bank and cities and towns within Israel.
On Monday, Israeli police said the car was collided with a pedestrian Three people suffered minor injuries in Jerusalem, and security camera footage showed two men with rifles getting out of a car and fleeing the scene. Police later announced that two people had been arrested.
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This article has been edited to correct the spelling of Maj. Gen. Aharon Hariba's last name.
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Associated Press writer Julia Frankel contributed to this report from Jerusalem.
