Israeli military chief resigns amid post-ceasefire scrutiny
The Chief of General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Herzi Halevi, has resigned. The general took responsibility for the massacre on 7 October, the day of the attack on Israel by Hamas fighters.
The Israeli military announced the commander's resignation.
"I informed the Minister of Defense today (Tuesday) that by virtue of my recognition of my responsibility for the IDF's failure on October 7th, and at a time when the IDF has significant achievements and is in the process of implementing the agreement to release our hostages, I have requested to leave my role on March 6th, 2025. Until then, I will complete the IDF’s inquiries into the events of October 7th and strengthen the IDF's readiness for security challenges. I will transfer command of the IDF in a high-quality and thorough manner to my successor. I have sent a letter to the Minister of Defense and the Prime Minister on the matter," the statement reads.
A series of resignations. They did not want a ceasefire
Earlier, several Israeli ministers resigned because they did not agree to a truce with Hamas.
On Sunday, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Minister of National Security; Amichai Eliyahu, the Minister of Heritage; and Yitzhak Wasserlauf, the Minister of Periphery Development, Negev, and Galilee, resigned.
In a letter to Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir stated: "surrender-to-terror deal, which crosses all ideological red lines." He claimed that a ceasefire with Hamas is "a complete victory for terrorism."
Ceasefire after 15 months of massacre
The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip came into effect on Sunday. Palestinians began returning to destroyed cities in the Gaza Strip, including Rafah and Jabalia.
As part of the ceasefire in place since Sunday in the Gaza Strip, Hamas released three hostages, and Israel is to release 90 Palestinian women and teenagers from prisons in return.
The war between Israel and Hamas followed an attack by this organisation and a coalition of Islamist militants supporting it on the Jewish State, which was carried out on 7 October 2023. In the massacre carried out by the terrorists, more than 1,200 people were killed, including citizens of more than 30 countries, and 251 people were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip.
In response to these events, Israel launched a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian authorities, this resulted in the deaths of over 46,000 civilians and over 100,000 were wounded. The Gaza Strip is devastated, there is a humanitarian crisis, and most residents had to flee their homes.
