Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir on Sunday announced a series
of disciplinary actions and dismissals targeting senior military
figures over the failure to prevent the events of Oct. 7, 2023,
according to Israeli media.
The incident is widely regarded inside Israel as the most severe
intelligence and operational collapse in the country’s history,
dealing a major blow to both Israel’s international standing and
the credibility of its armed forces.
Public broadcaster KAN reported that Zamir ordered the
termination of reserve service for several retired generals,
including former Military Intelligence head Aharon Haliva,
ex–Southern Command chief Yaron Finkelman, and former Operations
Directorate chief Oded Basyuk. Though these officers had already
been removed from their posts previously, the new decisions
permanently strip them of their reservist roles.
Zamir also dismissed Avi Rosenfeld, the reserve commander of the
Gaza Division, while the division’s intelligence officer was
removed from the army entirely.
Other senior figures—Air Force commander Tomer Bar, current
Military Intelligence chief Shlomi Binder, and Navy commander David
Saar Salama—received formal reprimands but kept their
positions.
KAN noted that Haliva and former Unit 8200 chief Yossi Sariel
did not appear at Sunday’s hearings for scheduling reasons and will
undergo review later before any final decision on their reserve
status.
The disciplinary steps came about two weeks after Zamir received
a detailed investigative report from retired Gen. Sami Turgeman
outlining the military and intelligence shortcomings that led to
the October 2023 shock attack.
None of the officers affected have publicly commented. Several
high-ranking commanders have already resigned over the failures,
including then–chief of staff Herzi Halevi.