Taking responsibility for Oct. 7 failures, IDF chief and head of Southern Command resign
Chief of staff Halevi says he’ll step down on March 6, after first stage of ceasefire with Hamas; Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman doesn’t give exact date, will stay ‘as long as needed’
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

In bombshell announcements on Tuesday, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and the head of the IDF Southern Command said they would both be resigning from the military over their roles in the failures that led to the Hamas terror group’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.
Halevi, in a letter to Defense Minister Israel Katz, said he would leave the IDF on March 6. IDF Southern Command head Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, in a letter to Halevi, did not specify a date.
The announcements come 15 months into the war sparked by Hamas’s attack and two days after a ceasefire and hostage release deal with the terror group in the Gaza Strip went into effect. Halevi’s departure would take place days after the end of the first stage of the ceasefire deal.
Halevi has on several occasions since the start of the war said that he intends to take responsibility for the October 7 failures and resign.
In a statement, Halevi said he was leaving the military after “recognizing my responsibility for the failure of the IDF on October 7, and at a point in time in which the IDF has recorded significant achievements, and is in the process of implementing an agreement to release hostages.”
Halevi said he would complete the IDF’s investigations into the October 7 onslaught by his resignation date, and prepare the military for future challenges.

“I will transfer command of the IDF in a high-quality and thorough manner to my replacement,” he added in the statement.
In his letter to Katz, Halevi said, “On the morning of October 7, under my command, the IDF failed in its mission to protect Israel’s citizens. My responsibility for this terrible failure remains with me every day, every hour, and will remain with me for the rest of my life.”
“The IDF was able to rise from an extremely difficult starting point and wage an intense campaign for over a year and three months across seven different fronts. The military achievements of the IDF have altered the Middle East,” he wrote. “These achievements, first and foremost, belong to the IDF’s commanders and soldiers — my subordinates.”
“In recognition of my responsibility for the IDF’s failure on October 7, and at a time when the IDF has recorded extraordinary achievements and restored Israel’s deterrence and strength, I request to conclude my tenure on March 6, 2025,” Halevi wrote.
“This decision was made long ago. Now, with the IDF holding the upper hand in all theaters of combat and with another hostage return agreement underway, the time has come,” he added.

Later, in a televised statement, Halevi said he was responsible for the failures on October 7, as well as for the military’s achievements during the war. He also called to appoint an external committee to investigate the army’s failures.
“On the first day of the war, during the General Staff’s situation assessment, I took clear and vocal responsibility for the IDF’s failure to protect civilians” during the October 7 onslaught,” Halevi said. “I did so again publicly on the sixth day of the war.”
“The IDF’s primary mission is to protect the country’s citizens. We failed in that. I have borne the consequences of that terrible day ever since and will carry them with me for the rest of my life,” he said.
“Throughout my service in the IDF, I was taught that an operation concludes only when its missions are complete. An operation ends when everyone returns. An operation ends after a debriefing. The purpose of the IDF’s investigations is learning — whether the force succeeded or failed,” Halevi said.
He said the IDF “must provide answers and conduct thorough, high-quality, and fully transparent investigations.”

“We investigate out of commitment to the fallen, the hostages and their families and members of the Western Negev communities; we investigate out of the obligation to learn, and in a way that will allow us to better protect the citizens of Israel in the future,” Halevi said.
Halevi also addressed pervasive conspiracy theories about October 7: “I can confidently say now: no one hid information. No one knew what was about to happen. No one helped the enemy carry out its brutality. Such claims, apart from being false, harm the dedicated service members who acted and continue to act for the nation’s security and deeply understand their responsibilities in light of the outcomes,”
“Upon completing the IDF’s investigations, we will better understand what happened to us, why it happened, and how to fix it. The military investigation focuses solely on the IDF, and cannot encompass all the causes and areas that could prevent similar events in the future,” he said. “An investigative committee or any other external body will be able to investigate and examine, and will have the IDF’s full transparency.”
“I bear responsibility for the IDF’s failure, and I also bear responsibility for its achievements. I will say in advance that I wish we had not needed these achievements, and no success can undo the immense pain, sorrow, and loss caused since the war began,” Halevi said.

Halevi in his statement said he he’d had no intention of staying in his role. “I will soon complete 40 years of military service. I made this decision a long time ago and now, when the IDF has the upper hand in all the combat theaters and another hostage agreement has been launched, the time is right,” he added.
It is the first time in 17 years that an IDF chief of staff has resigned before completing their three-year tenure. Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz quit in 2007 over the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
It was unclear who would be replacing Halevi.
An officer whose name has been brought up several times in media reports since the start of the war as a potential successor to Halevi is Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir, the current director general of the Defense Ministry and a former deputy chief of staff. Zamir was twice passed over for the role of military chief in the past.
Halevi’s deputy, Maj. Gen. Amir Baram, earlier this month asked to end his role at the end of February as initially scheduled. Baram indicated in his letter that he seeks to replace Halevi.
Another potential candidate is Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, the current head of the IDF Northern Command.
Katz, who spoke with Halevi before the letter was published, said he thanked the chief of staff “for his contribution to the IDF throughout his years of service as a fighter and as a commander, and for his part in the great achievements of the IDF in the difficult war that was imposed on us.”
The defense minister also said that he would begin to interview candidates for the next IDF chief of staff in the coming days.
Shortly after Halevi’s resignation announcement, Finkelman, the head of the IDF Southern Command, notified the chief of staff that he also intends to quit.
“On October 7, I failed in my duty to protect the Western Negev and its beloved, heroic residents. This failure is seared within me for life,” Finkelman wrote in a handwritten letter.

“I had the privilege of commanding, in this war, extraordinary commanders, warriors, and soldiers — the victory generation. Their fighting will be recorded as chapters of heroism and excellence in the history of the IDF and the State of Israel,” he wrote.
“Commander, I thank you for your true partnership in times of ultimate trial, and for your steadfast and principled leadership. I will continue my mission for as long as I am needed,” Finkelman added.
Halevi and Finkelman will join the former chief of the Military Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, and former commander of the Gaza Division, Brig. Gen. Avi Rosenfeld, who also resigned over the October 7 onslaught. (Another top intelligence general who was planning to step down over the onslaught quit after being diagnosed with cancer.)

Other top defense officials have said they bear responsibility for the deadly invasion carried out by Hamas on October 7, including the head of the Shin Bet security agency, though he has not yet resigned.
However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and most members of his government have repeatedly refused to take responsibility for their part in the series of strategic and operational failures that led to the Hamas onslaught, insisting that the matter of their responsibility only be dealt with after the war. Netanyahu has also resisted widespread pressure for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023, failures.
Thousands of Hamas-led terrorists burst from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, carrying out a murderous rampage of unprecedented intensity and breadth. The IDF struggled to mount a response, with bases closest to the border overrun and the chain of command seemingly broken amid the chaos.
The onslaught claimed the lives of some 1,200 people in Israel, with another 251 people kidnapped and much of the area devastated. Most of the victims were civilians.