Top Israeli general resigns over Oct. 7 attack, citing security and intelligence failures

A top Israeli general resigned on Tuesday, citing security and intelligence failures over the surprise attack by Hamas that sparked the war in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Israel launched a large-scale military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday, killing at least six people and wounding 35, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi is the highest-ranking Israeli figure to resign on October 7, 2023, after thousands of Hamas-led militants launched ground, sea and air attacks on southern Israel, attacking army bases and military bases. hours nearby communities.

As a result of the attack, 1200 people were killed, most of them civilians, and another 250 people were kidnapped. More than 90 prisoners are still being held in Gaza, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s subsequent military campaign has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza, with local health authorities saying women and children accounted for more than half of the dead, but who did not say how many of the dead were fighters.

Halevi said in his resignation letter that the military under his command “failed to fulfill the mission of defending the state of Israel.” Halevi, whose three-year term began in January 2023, said his resignation will take effect on March 6.

Israel had earlier announced a “significant and extensive military operation” against Palestinian militants in Jenin. The city has seen repeated Israeli incursions and gun battles with militants in recent years, even before an October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas ignited the Gaza war.

The latest operation comes within days of a fragile cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza that was supposed to last six weeks and release 33 hostages held by the militants in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians arrested by Israel. Three hostages and 90 prisoners were released on Sunday, when the ceasefire took effect.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East War. The Palestinians seek an independent state that includes all three territories.

Increase in Israeli raids, attacks in the West Bank

The cease-fire does not apply to the West Bank, where violence has escalated since the war began. Israeli soldiers carry out raids almost daily, often igniting armed clashes.

Attacks by Jewish extremists against Palestinians, including Monday night’s raids on two Palestinian villages, have increased, as have Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

Hamas condemned Israel’s operation in Jenin and called on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank to step up their attacks.

The smaller and more radical Islamic Jihad militant group also condemned the operation, saying it reflected Israel’s “failure to achieve its goals in Gaza.” It was also a “desperate attempt” by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to save his ruling coalition, he said.

Netanyahu has faced criticism from his far-right allies over the truce, which calls for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated areas in Gaza and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including militants accused of taking part in deadly attacks against Israelis.

The cease-fire has already seen Hamas return to the streets, signaling that it maintains firm control of the territory despite a 15-month war that has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and widespread destruction.

One of his former partners, Itamar Ben-Gvir, left the government on the day the ceasefire took effect, weakening the coalition but leaving Netanyahu still with a parliamentary majority.

Another far-right leader, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, threatened to bolt if Israel did not resume the war after the end of the first phase of the ceasefire within six weeks.