Skip to main content
Donate to the 95 years appeal
Israel's top general resigns over failures on October 7 Hamas attack
Meanwhile, Israel kills 35 in ‘significant and broad military operation’ in West Bank
A Palestinian stands beside a torched car in the aftermath of an attack by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Jinsafut, January 21, 2025

ISRAEL’S top general resigned today, citing the security and intelligence failures related to Hamas’s surprise attack some 15 months ago.

This comes as Israel launched a massive military attack in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin on Tuesday that the Palestinian Health Ministry said had killed at least six people and wounded 35.

Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi is the most senior Israeli figure to resign over the security breakdown on October 7 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led militants carried out a land, sea and air assault into southern Israel, rampaging through army bases and nearby communities for hours.

The attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted another 250. More than 90 captives are still being held in Gaza, around a third of whom are believed to be dead.

In his letter of resignation, which will come into effect on March 6, Gen Halevi said the military under his command had “failed in its mission to defend the state of Israel.”

Israel had earlier announced a “significant and broad military operation” against Palestinian militants in Jenin.

The city has seen repeated Israeli incursions and gun battles with militants in recent years, well before the October 7 attack.

The latest operation came just days into a fragile ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza that is supposed to last for six weeks.

The ceasefire does not apply to the West Bank, which has seen a surge of violence by settlers and Israeli forces. 

Jewish settlers went on the rampage in two Palestinian villages overnight on Monday.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medical teams treated those injured by the settlers in Jinsafut and Fanduq, adding that the victims suffered bruises as they were beaten by the settlers.

Yesh Din, which monitors human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, shared video clips showing Palestinian-owned vehicles and a building in flames from earlier settler attacks.

Hamas condemned the Israeli operation in Jenin, calling on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank to step up their own attacks.

Palestinian politician Hanan Ashwari said: “All eyes on the West Bank. Israeli settlers are on the rampage torching vehicles and homes in two towns east of Qalqilia and threatening Palestinians throughout the West Bank in revenge for the release of prisoners.”

The Islamic Jihad resistance group also condemned the operation, saying it reflected Israel’s “failure to achieve its goals in Gaza.”

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
School support staff members of Unison during a rally outside the Scottish parliament in Holyrood, Edinburgh, September 27, 2023
Unison Conference 2025 / 19 June 2025
19 June 2025
People join civil society groups led by Stand Up To Racism during a counter-protest against a rally endorsed by Tommy Robinson in central London, October 26, 2024
Unison Conference 2025 / 17 June 2025
17 June 2025
Palestinians line up to buy dinner at a food stand near the beachfront at a tent camp for displaced people in the Gaza City port, June 14, 2025
Gaza / 16 June 2025
16 June 2025
Maxar Technologies via AP
Russia-Ukraine / 12 June 2025
12 June 2025

Kiev couldn’t have carried out its mission against Russian air bases on its own, says ROGER McKENZIE, while Starmer has no qualms about dragging us deeper into a conflict that could turn nuclear