Israeli army chief of staff admits military’s failure during Oct. 7 events

By Said Amori

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israel’s army chief of staff admitted Sunday that the military failed to prevent the surprise attack launched by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 and bears responsibility for its occurrence.

“I would like to clarify -- as we have said from day one, we failed on the 7th of October. We did not take responsibility. The responsibility is ours -- regarding what happened and what will happen from here and onward,” Herzi Halevi said in a statement.​​​​​​​

Halevi emphasized that “ensuring security for the residents of Israel is a task that will take a long time. We still have a long way to go to achieve the goals of the war.”

Regarding the field conditions in southern Gaza, he claimed that the army killed and captured numerous Hamas leaders in the city of Khan Younis.

“The army is preparing to launch attacks on other areas, and we will decide with the political level the timing and circumstances,” he added.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since a cross-border incursion by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 which killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 31,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in the enclave, and nearly 73,700 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala