I.D.F.
Israeli military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Hariba resigned on Tuesday, citing “leadership responsibility” for the deadly Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7.
CNN —
Israel’s military intelligence chief has resigned, citing “leadership responsibility” for the October 7 Hamas-led offensive in southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and kidnapped another 250.
Major General Aharon Hariba became the first senior military official to resign over the October 7 Hamas attack, the deadliest day since Israel’s founding.
“MG Aharon Hariba has decided to resign from his position and retire from the IDF once a successor has been appointed in an orderly and professional process,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Monday. I thanked him for his 38 years of service. .
In October, Hariba acknowledged an “intelligence failure” by his forces for failing to warn of a Hamas-led attack on Israel.
“During my visits to IDF intelligence bases over the past 11 days, I have repeatedly said that this war began with an intelligence failure. The Intelligence Directorate under my command failed to warn of this terrorist attack launched by Hamas.” Maj. Gen. Aharon Hariba said in a letter to IDF intelligence officials at the time.
“We failed in our most important mission. As Director General of Intelligence, I take full responsibility for this failure.” These were Hariba’s first comments after the attack.
They emerged after Israel’s top internal security official took responsibility for the attack.
“Despite taking a series of actions, we were unable to provide sufficient warning to prevent the attack,” Ronen Barr, head of Shin Bet, said in a statement at the time. It’s there,” he added. ” said Israel Army Radio.
The attack was widely seen as a major failure by Israeli intelligence, and in October a number of senior defense and security officials came forward to take some responsibility for the lapses that led to the attack.
In December, the New York Times reported that Israel had received Hamas’ attack plans for more than a year. The report said Israeli authorities dismissed the plan as ambitious and considered it too complex for the organization to carry out. Other media outlets, including Israeli newspaper Haaretz, also reported the claim.
Immediately after the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced harsh public criticism for criticizing security chiefs for failing to warn of the impending attack in a later-deleted social media post.
In a CNN interview in November, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to say whether he took responsibility for failing to stop the deadly invasion.
