Index – Abroad – The next stage of the war in Gaza is coming

It should be remembered that Israel was attacked by Hamas on October 7, in which thousands of people (mostly civilians) were killed or abducted, and which led to the ongoing war in Gaza. After the incident, many people were puzzled that one of the best intelligence agencies in the world was so unprepared for the attack by the Islamists.

As we wrote about previously, Aharon Haliva has already taken responsibility for what happened.

The Directorate of Military Intelligence under my command could not warn about the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas. We have failed in our most important mission, and as the head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence, I take full responsibility for that failure.

said the head of intelligence a week and a half after the attack.

However, he did not leave his post – until now. Indeed, the IDF announced on Monday that the Directorate of Military Intelligence consulted with the army chief of staff and asked for his release due to the events of October 7.

The Chief of Staff thanked Major General Aharon Haliva for his 38 years of service in the IDF, during which he made a significant contribution to the security of the State of Israel, both as a combat soldier and as a commander.

– wrote the IDF.

In this regard, Haliva also wrote a letter, but it is expected that he will remain in his post for some time, he will not be replaced immediately.

The first but not the last?

Aharon Haliva is also the first senior official whose departure has been announced as a result of the October 7 attack, but there’s a good chance he won’t be the last.

Since Israel found itself practically at war after the attack, the question of leadership responsibility was abandoned. But even in an October poll, the majority of people said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Joáv Gallant should definitely leave because of what happened. And now, when the intensity of the fighting in Gaza has already begun to decrease somewhat, the voices demanding accountability may rise again.

According to NBC News, in addition to Haliva, several national security leaders have indicated that they will resign after the war, including the head of Israel’s other intelligence agency, Shin Bet. They added that Haliva’s resignation could also increase pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu, after the prime minister has been facing constant protests demanding early elections. Netanyahu has so far resisted the demands, and although he previously promised to set up a national commission to investigate the October 7 failures,

According to NBC, Aharon Haliva also wrote about this investigation in the letter in which he announced his departure. As he put it, the committee will have to investigate the Hamas attack “thoroughly, in-depth, comprehensively and precisely”, and he also announced that he will remain in his post until the end of the investigation and until his successor is appointed.

Is the next phase of the war in Gaza coming?

Update: The timing of Aharon Haliva’s departure is also interesting in that the Israelis recently announced that

According to al-Jazeera, Benjamin Netanyahu spoke the other day on the occasion of Passover that they will increase military pressure on Hamas, because this is their only chance to free the hostages who are still alive. The prime minister stated that “further painful blows” will be dealt to the terrorist organization.

Military spokesman Daniel Hagari also announced in a televised statement on Sunday that the chief of staff had “approved the next steps in the war,” but gave no details. As he said, the hostages will have been in captivity for 200 days by the time of the Easter holiday.

According to the Israeli army, at least some of the hostages are being held in Rafah in southern Gaza, where roughly 1.5 million Palestinians who have fled the rest of the strip have sought refuge.

Meanwhile, Israeli writer-journalist Akiva Eldar also told al-Jazeera that he believed Aharon Haliva had just announced his departure because it had become clear that

According to his opinion, the head of intelligence could have personally communicated his resignation to the prime minister, after which the opposition politicians could also increase the pressure on Netanyahu, who will thus sooner or later find it very difficult to explain why he remains in his post. The leading politician of the opposition, Jair Lapid, also bought this paper and called on the prime minister to resign on Monday morning, according to The Times of Israel.