Israel’s top general on Tuesday became the highest-ranking official to resign over Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, the worst security failure in the country’s history.
Like much of Israel’s top brass, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi remained in his post through the 15-month war in the Gaza Strip, the related conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon and tensions with Iran that led the two countries to exchange fire twice last year.
But days into a ceasefire with Hamas, and with the other conflicts having wound down, he and the head of Israel’s Southern Command, which oversees operations in Gaza, announced they would step down.
Their resignations are likely to fuel longstanding calls in Israel for a public inquiry into the security and intelligence failures of Oct. 7. That could implicate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has insisted that such an investigation can only be held after the war.
Here’s a look at who has taken the fall for Oct. 7 and who hasn’t.
Netanyahu, who was prime minister for all but one of the 14 years leading up to the attack, has not taken responsibility. He says he is among several officials who should face tough questions but that any public inquiry must wait until the end of the war.
His critics say he bears responsibility, not only for the failure to prevent the attack, but for his longstanding policy of trying to contain Hamas in Gaza. That included allowing Qatar to deliver large amounts of financial aid — some of it in suitcases of cash — to the territory in exchange for calm.
Netanyahu has sought to reframe his legacy during the war, boasting of unprecedented achievements against Iran and its militant allies across the region. He has vowed to keep fighting until all the hostages abducted in the Oct. 7 attack are returned and Hamas has been dismantled.
Netanyahu fired his popular defense minister in November, citing differences over the conduct of the war and replacing him with a loyalist. Gallant — who has long called for a public inquiry into the Oct. 7 failures — emerged as one of Israel’s more popular leaders during the war, in part by prioritizing a hostage deal over the annihilation of Hamas in the last months of his tenure.
In announcing his resignation, Halevi acknowledged his responsibility for the military’s failure on Oct. 7 and said he would ensure its internal investigations into the attack would be completed before leaving his role on March 6.
Bar has led the agency, which is tasked with collecting intelligence on Palestinians, since 2021. He took responsibility for the failure to thwart the attack just days after it occurred but has not resigned, saying investigations into what happened would need to come after the war.
Barnea would likely bear less responsibility for the Oct. 7 failures, as the Mossad is tasked with spying on enemies outside the territories Israel controls. He was a leading negotiator in more than a year of indirect talks with Hamas that led to this month’s ceasefire.
In his letter of resignation, Finkelman said his failure to defend southern Israel on Oct. 7 “will be etched into me for the rest of my life.”
Haliva resigned in April, saying his directorate had not lived up to its mission on Oct. 7. “I carry that black day with me ever since, day after day, night after night. I will carry the horrible pain of the war with me forever,” he wrote in his resignation letter.
Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel
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