The head of Israeli military intelligence steps down after failing to stop the Hamas strike on October 7

Being involved in the deadliest strike in Israel’s history, the chief of the military intelligence directorate resigned on Monday due to failings surrounding Hamas’ extraordinary October 7 attack, according to the IDF. He is the first senior person to do so.

The resignation of Major General Aharon Haliva may pave the way for additional fallout from Israel’s top security brass over the attack by Hamas, in which militants broke through Israel’s border defenses, ransacked Israeli communities for hours, killed 1,200 people—the majority of whom were civilians—and kidnapped about 250 more into Gaza. The seven-month conflict in Gaza against Hamas began with that incident.

“Under my leadership, the intelligence directorate fell short of the assignment assigned to it. Ever since then, I’ve carried that dark day with me every day and every night. In a letter of resignation released by the military, Haliva said, “I will carry the horrible pain of the war with me forever.” Haliva had openly acknowledged shortly after the conflict that, in his capacity as chief of the military department tasked with supplying the government and armed forces with intelligence warnings and daily alerts, he was to blame for not stopping the attack.

In a statement, the military stated that Haliva’s request to resign had been granted and that they were grateful for his 38 years of service.

Given the obvious shortcomings that preceded October 7 and the intensity of its aftermath, Haliva and other high-ranking military and security officials were almost certainly going to step down.

But since Israel is currently at war with Hezbollah, a terrorist organization based in northern Lebanon, and Hamas in Gaza, the timing of the resignations has been uncertain. In addition, tensions with Iran remain high in the wake of the two adversaries’ strikes. Resignations at a time when Israel is fighting on many fronts, according to some military analysts, are reckless and might be seen as a show of weakness.

While some, like Haliva, have taken responsibility for their inability to avert the assault, others have not gone so far. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for example, has said he would respond to pointed inquiries on his involvement but has not explicitly admitted direct fault for the incident’s progression. Additionally, he has not said that he would resign, despite rising protests calling for early elections.

Arriving on a Jewish holiday, the Hamas onslaught completely took Israel and its highly regarded security system off guard. The majority of Jews in Israel see the military as one of the most reliable institutions in the nation, therefore their confidence in it was severely damaged by Hamas’s attacks. A portion of that trust may be restored thanks to the resignation.

According to local health professionals, the bombing started a horrific conflict in Gaza that has killed over 34,000 Palestinians, at least two-thirds of whom were women and children. Eighty percent of the people in Gaza have fled to other areas of the beleaguered coastal enclave as a result of it destroying the two main cities in the region. There are signs of impending starvation as a result of the humanitarian crisis brought on by the conflict.

The area was shaken by the incident as well. The West Bank, which is under Israeli occupation, as well as Israeli cities and towns, have seen unrest.

Three people were slightly hurt after a vehicle struck pedestrians in Jerusalem on Monday, according to Israeli police. Security camera footage showed two guys getting out of the car with a weapon before they fled the area. The two guys were detained, according to police subsequent reports.