Israel’s top general resigned on Tuesday, taking responsibility for security failures related to the surprise attack by Hamas that sparked the war in Gaza. He also increased pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has delayed any public inquiry that could potentially question his leadership.
While a fragile new ceasefire was held in the Gaza Strip, Israel launched a major operation in the occupied West Bank that killed at least eight people, Palestinian officials said.
Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi is the highest-ranking Israeli figure to resign over the security failure on Oct. 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led militants launched a land, sea and air attack on southern Israel, hitting army bases and surrounding communities for hours.
The attack killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and another 250 were kidnapped. More than 90 prisoners are still being held in Gaza, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israeli security forces have raided the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, killing at least eight Palestinians. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “large-scale and significant military operation.”
According to local health authorities, Israel’s subsequent military campaign killed over 47,000 Palestinians in Gaza. More than half of the fatalities were women and children, but there was no information on how many of the dead were fighters.
In his resignation letter, Halevi said the military under his command had “failed to fulfill its mission of defending the State of Israel.” Halevi, who began his original three-year term in January 2023, said his resignation would take effect on March 6.
“Significant” military operation in Jenin
Israel had previously announced a “significant and comprehensive military operation” against Palestinian militants in Jenin. The city has seen repeated Israeli incursions and gun battles with militants in recent years, even before the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 sparked the war in Gaza.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 35 people were injured in the operation. His record does not distinguish between militants and civilians.
The latest operation came just days after the start of a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza that is expected to last six weeks and includes the release of 33 hostages held by militants in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians detained by Israel. Three hostages and 90 prisoners were released on Sunday as the ceasefire took effect.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. The Palestinians want an independent state that includes all three areas.
The ceasefire does not apply to the West Bank, which has seen a rise in violence since the war began. Israeli troops carry out raids almost daily, often leading to firefights.
Increase in attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank
There has also been a rise in attacks by Jewish extremists on Palestinians – including a shooting spree in two Palestinian villages overnight on Monday – as well as Palestinian attacks on Israelis.
Hamas condemned the Israeli operation in Jenin and called on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank to step up their own attacks.
The smaller and more radical militant group Islamic Jihad also condemned the operation, saying it reflected Israel’s “failure to achieve its objectives in Gaza.” It is also a “desperate attempt” by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to save his governing coalition.
Netanyahu faced criticism from his far-right allies over the ceasefire, which required the withdrawal of Israeli troops from populated areas in the Gaza Strip and provided for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including militants convicted of involvement in deadly attacks on Israelis.
The ceasefire has already seen Hamas return to the streets, showing it remains firmly in control of the area despite the 15-month war that killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused widespread devastation.
One of his former partners, Itamar Ben-Gvir, resigned from the government on the day the ceasefire took effect, weakening the coalition but still leaving Netanyahu with a parliamentary majority.
Another far-right leader, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, has threatened to leave if Israel does not resume the war after the first phase of the ceasefire ends in six weeks.
