Israeli intel unit chief quits over Oct. 7 failure; chief of staff to leave in Dec.

The commander of Unit 8200, the Israeli military's largest intelligence-gathering unit, has resigned from his position, amid a recent wave of resignations by the regime's high-ranking officers from various institutions.

Israeli media reported on Thursday that Brig. Gen. Yossi Sariel has notified his superiors and subordinates that he intends to resign. The Israeli military said Sariel was due to be replaced “in the coming period.”

8200 is the military’s main signals intelligence unit and is among the units that failed to prevent Operation al-Aqsa Storm by Palestinian resistance groups on October 7, 2023.

It is the same unit whose headquarters was also targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement as part of its retaliatory attack in late August. 

Meanwhile, Israeli chief of staff Herzi Halevi is making preparations to resign in late December, Channel 12 reported, citing conversations Halevi has been having with those around him.

By then, the military is set to have completed all of its internal investigations into the failures surrounding the October 7 operation, it added.  

Halevi succeeded Aviv Kohavi as the military chief in January 2023. Military chiefs usually serve for three years, with many serving a fourth year.

Halevi has several times acknowledged full responsibility for failing to thwart the Hamas operation.

This comes amidst a recent wave of resignations in the Israeli military and so-called security establishment.

A wave of high-profile resignations has shaken the Israeli military since Oct. 7, with several senior officers stepping down, citing intelligence failure to predict operations by Palestinian resistance groups and personal reasons.

The head of the Military Intelligence Directorate's Research Division, Brigadier General Amit Saar, stepped down "due to personal reasons, according to Israeli media.

The head of the Israeli army's Military Intelligence Directorate, Major General Aharon Haliva, also announced his resignation over his failure to predict the October 7 operation. 

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The commander of the Israeli army’s Gaza Division, Brigadier General Avi Rosenfeld, resigned due to his failure to protect Israeli military bases and settlements during the operation by resistance groups in early October.

The head of the Shin Bet security agency’s Southern District stepped down, citing his department’s failure to avert Hamas’s Oct. 7 raid.

An intelligence officer in the Gaza division has informed his commanders that he intends to resign due to the intelligence failure.

Chief of the Israeli Army’s Ground Forces, Tamir Yadai, resigned for "personal reasons" after he served three years in his position. 

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On June 6, Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz and war cabinet observer Gadi Eisenkot stepped down from prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's emergency unity cabinet. 

Gantz and Eisenkot joined Netanyahu’s regime following Israel's onslaught on Gaza, leading to the formation of the emergency cabinet, which then established the war cabinet.

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The Israeli military reportedly warns several troopers that they will be prosecuted if they do not return to Gaza, where the regime is waging a genocidal war against Palestinians.

According to Hebrew newspaper Maariv, Israel's hawkish minister Itamar Ben Gvir – who is in charge of the prison system and police – has been blocking the promotion of several officers.

The same Maariv report, released on September 4, said that the appointment of every new police commissioner is accompanied by a wave of resignations.

High-ranking members of the Israeli military’ resigned as the regime’s devastating war on Gaza rages on,

Israel continues its devastating invasion of the Gaza Strip, which has killed at least 41,100 people, mostly women and children.

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