Halevi Highlights ‘Significant Achievements’ Made by IDF, Guarantees ‘Comprehensive’ Transfer of Power
Israeli Army Chief Herzi Halevi notified Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday that he will resign on March 6 over security failures related to the attacks carried out on October 7, 2023 by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and other Palestinian factions.
Halevi, who will resign about ten months before the end of his three-year mandate, said in his letter that he was taking this decision to keep his promise to assume his “responsibility” for the “failure of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)” in the aforementioned attacks, which resulted in some 1,200 deaths and nearly 250 kidnapped, according to Israeli authorities.
He also stressed that this decision comes after the “significant achievements” obtained by the Army since then and in the midst of the “implementation” of the ceasefire agreement agreed last week with Hamas for the Gaza Strip, which came into force on Sunday and includes the release of hostages kidnapped during the aforementioned attacks.
“I have requested to step down from my post on March 6, 2025,” he said in his letter, which was revealed by the Israeli army through his account on the social network X. “Until then, I will complete the IDF’s investigations into the events of October 7 and strengthen the IDF’s preparedness for security challenges,” he explained.
“I will hand over command of the IDF to my successor in a thorough and high-quality process,” said Halevi, who stressed that he had notified this decision in separate letters sent to Katz and to the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Immediately afterward, the Defense Ministry issued a statement confirming that Halevi had notified it “of his desire to end his duties for reasons he detailed in his letter,” without directly mentioning the attacks of October 7, 2023.
“I would like to express my appreciation to the head of the Army and thank him for his contribution to the IDF during his years of service as a soldier and commander, as well as for his role in the great achievements of the IDF in the difficult war that was forced upon us,” it said.
In this way, the Defense Ministry stressed that Halevi “will continue to fulfill his duties and lead an orderly process of succession until the end of his duties.”
The attacks on October 7, 2023 were followed by a military offensive against the Gaza Strip that has so far left more than 47,000 dead, according to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian authorities, in addition to more than 850 Palestinians killed by security forces and in attacks carried out by settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
They also triggered a conflict with the Shiite militia party Hezbollah after the group began firing projectiles at Israel to support Palestinian factions, clashes that led to a ground invasion of Lebanon that left some 4,000 dead and the signing of a ceasefire at the end of November.
Israel has also been the target of attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen and pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria, while it has been the subject of several direct exchanges of attacks with Iran, raising the risk of a full-scale conflict in the Middle East.
