Israeli army chief fires, reprimands commanders for failures in Oct. 7 attack

Israel‘s military chief on Sunday dismissed several senior military personnel and reprimanded others over their roles in the failures on Oct.

Israel‘s military chief on Sunday dismissed several senior military personnel and reprimanded others over their roles in the failures on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel from Gaza.

A number of officers were told they would be released from reserve duty and would no longer serve in the military, the military said in a statement. Others were issued formal reprimands while one was informed that their service would be ended. Another tendered his resignation.

Those informed that they would be released from reserve duty included the former heads of intelligence directorate, operations directorate, and southern command, which is responsible for Gaza. The generals had previously resigned from active service but remained on reserve duty.

“The IDF failed in its primary mission on October 7th — to protect the civilians of the State of Israel,” Israeli military chief of staff Eyal Zamir said, referring to the Israel Defense Forces.

“This is a severe, resounding, systemic failure, relating to decisions and conduct on the eve of the event and during it. The lessons of that day are numerous and significant, and they must serve as our compass for the future toward which I intend to lead the IDF.”