The Israeli military announced on Sunday that several officers had been removed and censured for their failures leading up to and during Hamas‘s attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Eyal Zamir made the decision after summoning a number of senior officers for meetings earlier in the day. However, his move has since been temporarily blocked by a member of Israel’s security Cabinet.
“The IDF failed in its primary mission on Oct. 7 — to protect the civilians of the State of Israel,” Zamir said in a video, translated from Hebrew to English.
“This is a severe, resounding, systemic failure, relating to decisions and conduct on the eve of the event and during it,” he added. “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.”
Over 1,200 Israelis were killed on Oct. 7, when Hamas stormed a music festival happening on the border with Gaza. More than 200 people were taken hostage. The violence began the longest war in Israel’s history.
Most of the officers who were dismissed previously resigned from the IDF, and the others who were reprimanded will continue to serve in their roles until the end of their designated tenures.
The previous high-ranking officials in question include former Military Intelligence Directorate chief Aharon Haliva, who resigned in August 2024; former Operations Directorate chief Oded Basiuk, who stepped down after his tenure ended in July; and former Southern Command chief Yaron Finkelman, who resigned in March. All three were dismissed from reserve duty and discharged from the IDF.
At least a dozen officials were affected by Zamir’s symbolic move.
Israeli Air Force chief Tomer Bar and Israeli Navy chief David Sa’ar Salama were among those censured over their respective military division’s failure to thwart Hamas’s coordinated airborne and seaborne attacks on Oct. 7. Both will serve until the end of their tenures in the coming months.
Zamir had vowed to make “personal decisions” regarding the military officers in response to an external inquiry that criticized the IDF’s investigations into its Oct. 7 failures.
On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz paused the senior IDF appointments pending an ordered reevaluation of the external investigation’s findings. Katz, who has feuded with Zamir, said he expects Israel’s defense establishment comptroller to submit within 30 days recommendations for Zamir’s criteria regarding his personal conclusions for dismissing and punishing the commanders.
ISRAEL STRIKES BEIRUT, INTENSIFYING CAMPAIGN TARGETING HEZBOLLAH RESURGENCE
The Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, recently announced its intent to create a commission to investigate the Jewish state’s Oct. 7 failures. The action drew criticism because Netanyahu opted for a government-backed inquiry instead of an independent one.
The government has until Jan. 4 to respond to Israel’s high court, which questioned why no independent commission had been formed to look into events surrounding the massacre.
