The Israeli army had fired several generals for alleged failures before the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Those affected were the then Chief of Army Intelligence, Aharon Haliva, the then Head of the Operations Directorate, Oded Basjuk, and General Jaron Finkelman, then in charge of the Southern Military Region.
The three will no longer be part of the army and will also be removed from the reserve cadre, military chief Ejal Samir said. Apart from that, disciplinary sanctions were imposed on, among others, Air Force Commander Tomer Bar and Navy Commander David Saar Salma.
Samir accused the generals of taking personal responsibility for failing to prevent Hamas attacks. The layoffs followed the publication of an expert report in November. The report criticized, among other things, wrong decisions in the deployment of troops on the night of October 7 and complaints within the chain of command. Military intelligence was said to have been unable to provide warning of such a major attack – despite the fact that the information situation was very good.
That Hamas and its allied Islamic groups killed more than 1,200 people and kidnapped around 250 hostages on October 7, 2023. As a result, Israeli troops attacked the Gaza Strip with massive force. According to the Palestinian Health Authority, which is under the control of Hamas, more than 69,000 people have died in the war. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock estimate the death toll is much higher, at least 100,000 people.
