TEL AVIV, Nov 24 (The African Portal) – Several senior Israeli army commanders who served before and during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack will be dismissed from reserve service, army chief Eyal Zamir announced late Sunday.
Following an investigation, Zamir said he had fired and also reprimanded several senior commanders over the military’s failure “to protect the civilians of the State of Israel”.
The list of generals fired includes three divisional commanders, one of whom was then serving as the military intelligence chief.
A military statement released Sunday said all three bear personal responsibility for the armed forces’ failure to prevent the attack launched by Hamas from the Gaza Strip.
The firing comes after all three had already resigned from their posts.
Disciplinary actions were also announced against the head of the navy and air force along with moves against four other generals and several senior officers.
Some of the concerned senior army officials were summoned on Sunday for meetings with the army chief, where they were presented with decisions made about their conduct and presented with the disciplinary measures taken against them, ranging from dismissal to formal or personal reprimands, according to Israeli daily Haaretz.
Systemic and organisational failure
Earlier this month, a report by a committee of experts appointed by Zamir was published marking the conclusion of the army’s internal investigations into the October 7 attacks.
The report concluded that there had been a “long-standing systemic and organisational failure” within the military apparatus.
The investigation also noted the military’s “intelligence failure” over its “inability to raise the alarm” over the attacks – even though the army had “exceptional, high-quality information”.
It also deplored “deficient decision-making processes and force deployment during the night of October 7, 2023” and pointed to failures across the military’s chain of command.
Credit: FRANCE 24 with AFP
