Azernews.Az

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.