Who in Israel has resigned over the Oct. 7 security breakdown, and who hasn't?
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Israel's top general on Tuesday became the highest-ranking official to resign over Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack, the worst security failure in the country's history. Like much of Israel's top brass, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi remained in his post through the 15-month war in the Gaza Strip, the related conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon and tensions with Iran that led the two countries to exchange fire twice last year.
But days into a ceasefire with Hamas, and with the other conflicts having wound down, he and the head of Israel's Southern Command, which oversees operations in Gaza, announced they would step down. Their resignations are likely to fuel longstanding calls in Israel for a public inquiry into the security and intelligence failures of Oct. 7. That could implicate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has insisted that such an investigation can only be held after the war.
Here's a look at who has taken the fall for Oct. 7 and who hasn't. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu, who was prime minister for all but one of the 14 years leading up to the attack, has not taken responsibility. He says he is among several officials who should face tough questions but that any public inquiry must wait until the end of the war.
His critics say he bears responsibility, not only for the failure to prevent the attack, but for his longstanding policy of trying to contain Hamas in Gaza. That included allowing Qatar to deliver large amounts of financial aid — some of it in suitcases of cash — to the territory in exchange for calm.
