Israeli army’s Gaza Division commander resigns over 2023 attack

ISTANBUL

The commander of the Northern Brigade of the Israeli army's Gaza Division has officially announced his resignation over failures during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Haim Cohen said that he takes responsibility for the brigade’s failures during the Oct. 7 attack, The Times of Israel reported.

“The results show I failed!!!” he wrote in his resignation letter to Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported.

The Gaza Division, deployed along the border with the enclave, consists of three brigades: Northern, Central, and Southern.

“On Oct. 7, 2023, my brigade failed to fulfill its mission to protect the residents of the Gaza border area when war erupted.”

Cohen’s departure is part of a wave of military resignations following reports of a “severe failure” in handling the October 2023 attack.

Key resignations include the army’s Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, who stepped down in March 2025, and Southern Command leader Yaron Finkelman, who admitted failure to defend western Negev communities.

Gaza Division commander Avi Rosenfeld also resigned, acknowledging his inability to protect settlements near the border.

Additionally, Military Intelligence Directorate head Aharon Haliva resigned, stating that his agency failed in its mission.

Operations Directorate chief Oded Basiuk stepped down after investigations revealed he failed to recognize the Gaza Division’s collapse in time. His position is the third highest in the military, after the chief of staff and deputy chief.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024, citing a “crisis of trust” without elaborating, as the war in Gaza intensified.

While military and intelligence officials have resigned, acknowledging responsibility for the Oct. 7, 2023 attack failures, Netanyahu has refused to take any blame and has ignored opposition calls for early elections.

The opposition accuses Netanyahu of blocking the formation of a state commission of inquiry into the failures to shift the blame onto military and intelligence leaders.

Nearly 50,200 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 113,700 injured in a brutal Israeli military onslaught on Gaza since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.