Israel’s top general resigns over Oct. 7 failures, adding to pressure on Netanyahu

JERUSALEM — Israel’s top general resigned Tuesday, taking responsibility for security failures tied to the Hamas terrorist attack that triggered the war in Gaza.

Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi is the most senior Israeli figure to resign over the security and intelligence breakdown on Oct. 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists carried out a land, sea and air assault into southern Israel, rampaging through army bases and nearby communities.

The attack — the single deadliest on Israel in its history — killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the terrorists abducted another 250. More than 90 captives are still in Gaza, around a third believed to be dead.

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed over 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were fighters. Halevi on Tuesday said close to 20,000 terrorists had been killed.

Nearly 900 trucks of aid entered Gaza on the third day of the ceasefire Tuesday, the United Nations said — significantly higher than the 600 trucks called for in the deal — in a rush to supply food, medicines and other needs for the population of over 2 million people.

Halevi’s resignation, effective March 6, came days into the ceasefire with Hamas that could lead to an end to the 15-month war and the return of remaining captives. Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, head of Israel’s Southern Command, which oversees operations in Gaza, also resigned.

Halevi made his most explicit call yet for a public inquiry in comments to journalists, saying it would be “granted full transparency” by the military.

Halevi had appeared to be at odds with Israel’s new defense minister, Israel Katz, over the direction of the war. He said Israel had accomplished most of its goals, while Katz echoed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s vow to keep fighting until “total victory” over Hamas. Katz replaced the popular Yoav Gallant, who Netanyahu dismissed in November after growing disagreements over the war.

The ceasefire that started Sunday does not apply to the West Bank, where Israel announced new operation against Palestinian terrorists in Jenin. The city has seen repeated Israeli incursions and gunbattles with terrorists in recent years.

Netanyahu faces criticism from far-right allies over the ceasefire, which requires Israeli troops to pull back from populated areas in Gaza and envisions the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including terrorists convicted of involvement in deadly attacks on Israelis.

Hamas has already returned to the streets, showing that it remains in control of the territory despite the war killing tens of thousands of Palestinians — including some Hamas leaders.

The ceasefire’s first phase is to last for six weeks, with 33 hostages gradually released. Three hostages and 90 prisoners were released Sunday, when it took effect. The next release is Saturday.

One of Netanyahu’s partners, Itamar Ben-Gvir, quit the government on Sunday, weakening the coalition but still leaving Netanyahu with a parliamentary majority. Another partner, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, has threatened to leave if Israel does not resume the war after the ceasefire’s first phase.

Separately on Tuesday evening, 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 attacker, a 28-year old “foreign national,” was killed by security forces at the scene.