Haliva, the first senior political or military official to resign due to the events of October 7, will continue until his replacement is appointed
The head of the Intelligence services of the Israeli Army, Aharon Haliva, presented his resignation this Monday for his “responsibility” in the attacks carried out on October 7 by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which left some 1,200 dead and nearly 240 kidnapped, and has demanded the establishment of an investigation committee to analyze the security failures surrounding the event.
“The head of the Intelligence Division, Aharon Haliva, in coordination with the head of the Army (Herzi Halevi), has requested that his mandate be terminated due to his command responsibility as head of the National Security Agency in the events of the October 7,” the Army said in a statement.
In his resignation note, Haliva highlighted that “the Intelligence Division was not up to the task entrusted to it” and acknowledged that “he knew that a great responsibility was attached to authority.” Likewise, he has called for the creation of a state committee “that can investigate and determine exhaustively, in depth and accurately, all the factors and circumstances that led to these difficult events.”
Thus, the Israeli Army has explained that the decision “has the approval of the Minister of Defense”, Yoav Gallant, and has highlighted that “Haliva will end his functions and will withdraw from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) once that his replacement be appointed in an orderly and professional process”.
The Army has also highlighted that Haliva “has shown in his petition his great appreciation for the actions of IDF officers during the war”, in reference to the offensive launched against the Gaza Strip after the October 7 attacks, while that Halevi “has thanked Haliva for his 38 years of service in the IDF, during which he contributed greatly as a soldier and as a commander to the country’s security.”
Haliva thus becomes the first senior political or military official in Israel to resign due to security failures surrounding the attacks carried out by Hamas and Islamic Jihad on October 7, which were followed by an Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip, which has left nearly 34,100 dead to date, amid fear of the expansion of the conflict in the region.
For this reason, the main opposition leader and former Prime Minister of Israel Yair Lapid has reiterated his call to the current Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to “do the same” as Haliva and present his resignation.
“‘Along with authority comes great responsibility,'” Lapid said on his account on the social network X, quoting part of Haliva’s resignation letter. “The resignation of the head of Military Intelligence is justified and honorable. It would be appropriate for Netanyahu to do the same,” he concluded.