Israel fires military commanders over October 7 failures

Numerous senior officers have been fired by the Israeli military and given criticism for their inaction in the Hamas-led attack in October 2023.

Generals in charge of military intelligence, operations, and the southern command, which is in charge of Gaza, were among the list of generals who were officially fired on Monday.

The government has not yet launched an investigation into the attack, which sparked the devastating war in the enclave.

A number of officers were set to leave reserve duty and join the military, according to a statement released by the military on Sunday.

According to military chief of staff Eyal Zamir, “The Israeli army failed in its main mission on October 7th, 2014, to protect the civilians of the State of Israel.”

He continued, “This is a severe, resounding, systemic failure.” The lessons from that day must serve as our compass for the future because they are numerous and significant.

Former heads of the operations directorate, southern command, and the intelligence directorate were among those informed that they would be released from reserve duty.

They had previously left active duty and were still serving on reserve.

The current intelligence directorate chief, who previously held the position of managing director of the operations division until 2028, has received criticism.

According to local media, he will eventually resign from the military at his own request.

Other officers received formal reprimands. One was informed that they would no longer receive service. Another submitted a resignation.

According to reports, the Israeli air force chief was criticized for failing to protect from Hamas’ drones and paragliders during the assault.

Similar issues were raised by Israel’s current navy commander.

Public pressure

The disciplinary actions are in response to growing public demands for accountability for the errors that led to the attack.

On Saturday night, opposition leaders in Tel Aviv demanded a state commission of inquiry and joined thousands of protesters.

Zamir demanded a “systemic investigation” two weeks ago.

However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far declined to launch an in-depth investigation despite being critical of his role in the failures.

According to Israeli records, about 1,200 people were killed in Israel as a result of the October 7 assault, which was carried out by Hamas and other Palestinian-led armed groups.

In response, Israel launched a two-year ground and air campaign that has devastated Gaza, resulting in the deaths of more than 69 000 people, according to local health officials.

Last month, the United States brokered a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

The first phase of the plan, however, is still in place, with Hamas and Israel accusing one another of breaking the conditions and Israel violating the ceasefire’s terms and carrying out daily attacks in Gaza.