IDF commanders fired for failing to prevent the October 7 attack
On Sunday, the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, Eyal Zamir, imposed a series of punitive measures and dismissals against a number of senior officers against the background of their failure to prevent the attack of October 7, 2023, following evaluation sessions he conducted with them.
In October 2023, Hamas attacked military bases and settlements adjacent to Gaza, killing and capturing Israelis, in response to the daily crimes of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people and their holy sites, especially the al Aqsa Mosque.
Israeli officials consider that what happened on October 7 represents the biggest Israeli intelligence and military failure, which has caused significant damage to Israel’s image and its military in the world.
According to the commission’s report, the decisions included the termination of the service of a number of generals in the reserves, including former head of the Military Intelligence Division “Aman” Aharon Haliva, former commander of the Southern Region Yaron Finkelman, and former head of the Operations Division Oded Basiuk.
These officers have previously been dismissed from their leadership positions and the new measures are punitive, including the complete termination of their reserve service in the army.
Zamir also ended the service of the commander of the Gaza Division, Avi Rosenfeld, in the reserves, while the intelligence officer of the division was completely dismissed from the army.
Other officers, including Air Force Commander Tomer Bar, current head of military intelligence Shlomi Binder, and Navy Commander David Sa’ar Selma, received command remarks without taking the step of dismissal against them.
It noted that an ally, and former Unit 8200 commander Yossi Shriel didn’t attend the hearings, “for scheduling reasons,” and that they would appear later in court before completing the proceedings and ending their reserve service.
The steps come about two weeks after Zamir received the comprehensive report prepared by retired General Sami Turgeman on the failures that preceded the October 7 attack.
There was no immediate comment from the officers affected by the proceedings.
A number of senior Israeli commanders and officers who were on duty during the events of October 7, including then-Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Southern District Commander Yaron Finkelman, Chief of Operations Division Oded Basiuk, and Aman Chief Aharon Haliva have resigned and acknowledged their responsibility for failing to prevent the attack.
