JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL 

The Israeli government unanimously approved on Tuesday evening the appointment of Maj. Gen. David Zini as head of the Israeli security agency Shin Bet despite opposition objections.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that Zini will assume his position on Oct. 5, reported the Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

Zini will succeed Ronen Bar, who left his post in mid-June after sharp disputes with Netanyahu over the failure to repel the Hamas fighters’ attack on Israeli settlements and military bases on Oct. 7, 2023.

While Bar acknowledged responsibility for that failure, Netanyahu refused to do so and insisted on continuing the genocide in Gaza--a move that the opposition and families of captives viewed as an attempt by the prime minister to prolong the war for his political survival.

The Shin Bet is responsible for handling investigations related to “counterterrorism.”

The Israeli army has killed over 66,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable and led to starvation and the spread of diseases.