Israel’s army chief to resign over Hamas’s Oct 7 attacks
Israel’s army chief has announced he will resign after taking responsibility for the major security “failure” that led to Hamas’s Oct 7 attacks. He announcement on Tuesday that he would step down on March 6 came as Israeli forces raided the West Bank city of Jenin in what Benjamin Netanyahu called a “large-scale and significant military operation”.
His resignation over the deadliest day in Israel’s history was widely expected, although it is not clear who would replace Lt Gen Halevi, a military veteran of over four decades.
“My responsibility for the terrible failure accompanies me every day, hour by hour, and will do so for the rest of my life,” he said, adding he would complete the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) inquiries into Oct 7.At least eight Palestinians have been killed so far in the “Iron Wall” operation in Jenin which is expected to last several days and includes Israeli soldiers, police and intelligence services.
The new offensive came one day after Donald Trump declared that he was lifting sanctions on violent settlers in the West Bank who attacked Palestinian villages.
“We are acting systematically and resolutely against the Iranian axis wherever it extends its arms – in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Judea and Samaria,” Mr Netanyahu said.
Judea and Samaria are terms Israel uses for the occupied West Bank.
“This is another step in achieving the goal we set, strengthening security” in the West Bank, the Israeli prime minister added.
Another 35 were wounded in the attacks, according to the local health ministry, run by the Palestinian Authority.
In response to attacks, Hamas released a statement calling for a “general mobilization and escalation of clashes” against Israel’s military.
Footage circulating on social media showed several IDF vehicles driving through Jenin on Tuesday, with local media reporting that the forces entered the al-Jabariyat neighbourhood.
Kamal Abu al-Rub, Jenin’s governor, told AFP the operation was “an invasion of the [refugee] camp”. “It came quickly, Apache helicopters in the sky and Israeli military vehicles everywhere,” he added.
Israel is yet to comment on the reported death toll and airstrikes.
The move into Jenin, where the Israeli army has carried out multiple raids and large-scale incursions over recent years, comes only two days after the start of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.
Jenin has been a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for decades, as the Iran-backed terror groups of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have taken control within the city.Israel has accused Iran of funding and arming Palestinian terror groups in the West Bank for years, smuggling weapons through the border crossing with Jordan.
On Monday, masked Israeli settlers set fire to cars and tried to break into Palestinian homes in the northern West Bank village of al-Funduq.
Betzalel Smotrich, Israel’s hard line finance minister and member of the security cabinet, called the operation in Jenin part of Israel’s goal to “eradicate terrorism” in the region and “protect settlements and settlers”.
Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem – heavily disputed land Israel captured in 1967.
The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority has limited self rule over some territory in the West Bank under Israeli military occupation.
Tuesday’s operation comes after weeks of clashes between the Palestinian Authority and the Jenin Brigade, a coalition of members of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyr Brigade, an armed Palestinian armed group.
The authority has tried to restore law and order in Jenin but its forces have not managed to break the Jenin Brigade.Meanwhile, Mr Netanyahu spoke with Sir Keir Starmer over the phone on Tuesday, discussing the release of hostages as well as the Downing Street’s suspension of arms exports to Israel.
Sir Keir “thanked” Mr Netanyahu for the release of British citizen Emily Damari, and “congratulated him” on the return of the other hostages, according to Mr Netanyahu’s office.
The Prime Minister also said that an “evaluation of the issue” of the UK’s freeze on some weapons sales to Israel is being carried out.
The UK’s decision last year, which caused fury among Israeli politicians, was made over concerns the arms may be used to violate international humanitarian law.
