Israeli army chief to quit, taking responsibility for Oct. 7, 2023, security failure

Israel's army chief Herzi Halevi said Tuesday he would resign on March 6, accepting responsibility for the massive security failure on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants from Gaza carried out a cross-border terror attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and capturing 250 hostages.

Halevi, in a letter to Israel's defense minister, said he would complete the Israel Defense Forces' inquiries into the shock attack that led to 15 months of fighting and help strengthen the IDF's readiness for future security challenges.

"I will transfer command of the IDF in a high-quality and thorough manner to my successor," wrote Halevi, who is chief of the general staff of Israel's armed forces.

A six-week truce is now in effect, but Halevi said, "The objectives of the war have not all been achieved. The army will continue to fight to further dismantle Hamas and its governing capabilities, ensure the return of the hostages" and enable Israelis displaced by militant attacks to return home.

Ever since the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to answer questions about assigning blame for the attack, saying that such an inquiry could wait for the war to end.

Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza has killed more than 47,000, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry, although Israel, without evidence, says it has killed 17,000 militants.

A six-week truce is now in effect.

Hamas says it will release another round of hostages on Saturday, as a ceasefire with Israel held into a third day and U.N. humanitarian agencies moved aid into Gaza to help Palestinian civilians.

A Hamas official told Agence France-Presse on Tuesday that the next group of hostages would be four Israeli women, who would be set free in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

With the ceasefire holding Tuesday, but more than five weeks remaining before a second phase would begin, questions remained about how quickly and successfully Israel and Hamas will negotiate the terms of the next phase.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who took office Monday after officials from his team and former president Joe Biden’s administration pushed to achieve a ceasefire before the change in power, expressed some doubts about the truce.

“I’m not confident,” Trump told reporters Monday. “That’s not our war. It’s their war.”

Trump said his administration “might” help with reconstruction efforts in Gaza and compared the territory to a “massive demolition site.”

Fifteen months of war has devastated the Gaza Strip, destroying many of the homes that Palestinians who fled in search of safety hoped to return to with the halt in fighting.

The ceasefire has so far included the return of three hostages who had been held in Gaza as well as 90 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said 915 aid trucks entered Gaza on Monday.

The current conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas, a U.S.-designated terror group, attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage. Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza has killed more than 47,000, with most of them women and children, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.