Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi attends a ceremony marking Memorial Day for fallen soldiers of Israel’s wars and victims of attacks at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl military cemetery on May 13, 2024. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
JEURSALEM — Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi announced his resignation in a Tuesday letter to Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz.
Halevi will be leaving his role on March 6, meaning he will leave his command after the first phase of the recent hostage and ceasefire deal with Hamas, which began Sunday and is expected to last 40 days.
“I informed the Minister of Defense today (Tuesday) that by virtue of my recognition of my responsibility for the IDF’s failure on October 7th, and at a time when the IDF has significant achievements and is in the process of implementing the agreement to release our hostages, I have requested to leave my role,” he said in a statement. “Until then, I will complete the IDF’s inquiries into the events of October 7th and strengthen the IDF’s readiness for security challenges.”
Katz accepted the resignation and noted that he expressed appreciation for Halevi. Katz thanked Halevi “for his contribution to the IDF throughout his years of service as a fighter and commander, and for his part in the IDF’s great achievements in the difficult war that was forced upon us,” according to a statement from his office.
Katz promised an orderly succession process in the coming month and a half. The selection of a chief of staff can be a complex process, and in the midst of an ongoing multi-front war in a politically charged atmosphere with ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon, Israel’s leaders will have to scramble to complete the process.
Halevi is the highest-ranking officer to resign over the Oct. 7 debacle in which more than 1,000 Israelis were killed and 250 taken hostage. Other officers who have resigned due to the conflict include the head of IDF Military Intelligence Maj. Gen. Haliva, who left in April 2024, saying he would always carry the pain of the war; Brig. Gen. Avi Rosenfeld, the head of the Gaza Division which was tasked with defending the border on Oct. 7, who resigned in June; and the head of the IDF’s Southern Command Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman who resigned Jan. 21, in an announcement that appeared timed with Halevi’s own decision.
Further key officials and officers have left or asked to leave, though not in direct connection to Oct. 7. For example, Maj. Gen. Amir Baram, the IDF’s Deputy Chief of Staff had his tenure extended during the war, but asked to end his role in February. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was fired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in early November, but not because of failures on Oct. 7.
The 23rd chief of staff, Halevi was tapped for the role in September 2022. His appointment was approved in late October 2022 and he assumed his role in January 2023. He came with an illustrious background, having led the Paratrooper’s Brigade during the 2009 war in Gaza and having served as the head of IDF Intelligence and Southern Command. At the time, it was assumed he would face tough tests in the new job because of Israel’s multi-front challenges facing Iranian-backed proxies.
But Halevi chafed under the new defense minister. Katz ordered Halevi to stop promotions of new officers until IDF probes into the Oct. 7 attack were completed, intervening in November to stop the promotion of two officers. Katz also froze the appointment of one officer on Jan. 16.
Halevi’s resignation was widely expected in circles that follow the IDF. Rumors that he would resign began spreading in the fall of 2024, though the war effort seemed to quiet that idea.
Sentiment around his resignation is mixed. For instance, days before his resignation, Israel’s left-leaning Haaretz included an op-ed demanding the “beleaguered army chief must not resign.” On Tuesday, however, Yaakov Katz, author of “Israel vs. Iran: The Shadow War” and a fellow at The Jewish People Policy Institute, wrote on X that “IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi finally did what he should have done months ago — taken responsibility for the failures that led to October 7. His resignation will have political consequences but they are secondary. What’s important is the message he is sending to troops — the IDF code is based on personal accountability.”
