Israel: head of Israeli military intelligence resigns amid war in Gaza

The head of Israeli military intelligence resigned Monday, assuming his “responsibility” for the bloody attack by Hamas, at the origin of the war in the Gaza Strip where Israel promised to deal new “hard blows” to the Islamist movement . In full offensive in the Palestinian territory, Israel celebrates on Monday the start of the Jewish Passover, the Pessah festival, among the most important in the Hebrew calendar, marked this year by the absence of the 129 hostages held in Gaza since October 7. At the request of the families, a chair will be left empty around the table during the ritual Seder meal Monday evening, so as not to forget the hostages.

On the eve of this holiday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised on Sunday to deal “new hard blows” to Hamas. “In the coming days, we will increase military and political pressure on Hamas, because this is the only way to free our hostages and achieve our victory,” he said in a video message. The first political or military figure to resign since the attack carried out by Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza, the head of Israeli military intelligence, General Aharon Haliva, assumed “his responsibility” in the failure to prevent this incursion.

“This black day”

“On October 7, 2023, Hamas carried out a deadly surprise attack against the State of Israel (…) the intelligence service under my command did not fulfill the mission entrusted to us,” wrote General Haliva, who has 38 years of military career, in his resignation letter published by the army. “I have carried this dark day with me ever since. Day after day, night after night. I will carry this terrible pain forever,” he added. The October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli data.

In response, Israel promised to destroy Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007, and launched an offensive which has so far left 34,151 dead, including 54 in 24 hours, according to the terrorist movement’s Ministry of Health. After six and a half months of bombing and fighting in the besieged Gaza Strip, hit by a major humanitarian crisis, Israeli Chief of Staff General Herzi Halevi on Sunday approved “the next stages of the war”, announced army spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

Benjamin Netanyahu continues to proclaim his determination to launch a ground offensive in Rafah, in the south of the territory, which he considers to be the last major bastion of Hamas. Humanitarian organizations and many foreign capitals are opposed to this operation, fearing a bloodbath in the border town with Egypt, where a million and a half Gazans, residents or displaced people, are crowded together.

“200 days of captivity”

The army maintains that some of the hostages kidnapped on October 7 are being held in Rafah. More than 250 people were kidnapped that day and 129 of them remain captive in Gaza, 34 of whom died according to Israeli officials. “At Pessah, it will be 200 days of captivity for the hostages (…). We will fight until you return to us,” assured the army spokesperson. On Monday, the army notably bombarded the Palestinian camps of Nusseirat and Maghazi, as well as the coastline in Deir el-Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip, and the towns of Rafah and Khan Younes, in the south, according to a corresponding to AFP.

Bombings also targeted the Zaïtoune neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, and drones struck the playground of a school in the al-Bureij camp, in the center of the territory. In the same camp, at least three people were injured in the bombing of a mosque, according to medical sources. “At 1:15 a.m., we suddenly saw fire, debris and destruction all around us. We started running and found the mosque destroyed,” a resident, named Mousaad, told AFP.

The army announced that it had launched an operation in the center of the Gaza Strip and “continued to eliminate terrorists and dismantle terrorist infrastructure”. In Khan Younes, Civil Defense announced on Sunday that it had exhumed at least 50 bodies of Palestinians buried in the courtyard of the Nasser hospital, one of the largest in the territory, after having been “certainly arrested, tortured and subjected to ill-treatment by the part of the occupying army. Questioned by AFP, the army, which withdrew from Khan Younes on April 7, said it verified these assertions.

American aid

This macabre discovery comes at a time when the United States approved military aid of 13 billion dollars for its Israeli ally. For Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union, Washington gave Israel the “green light” to continue “aggressing” the Palestinians. The United States insists on the need for an immediate ceasefire associated with the release of the hostages. But the negotiations carried out through the mediating countries have stalled, with both camps accusing each other of blocking them.

Violence is also increasing on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, between the army and Lebanese Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, as well as in the occupied West Bank where Israeli forces carry out almost daily raids, saying they want to fight against Palestinian armed groups.