Israeli intelligence commander resigns over failure
Last Updated on September 14, 2024 9:31 am
Brigadier General Yossi Sariel, commander of the Israeli military intelligence unit 8200, has announced his resignation.
On October 7, he decided to step down, taking responsibility for the failure of the Gaza-based Palestinian resistance movement to prevent an attack by Hamas.
The Israeli army said on Thursday that Sariel would be replaced by someone else.
Unit 8200 is the main signals intelligence unit of the IDF. And it was one of the units that failed to resist the October 7 attack.
Sariel took up the post in February 2021 after a long career in military intelligence.
Sariel said on Thursday that he resigned because of the failure to prevent the attack. However, he announced his departure 11 months after the incident.
The Israelis claim that about 1200 Israelis were killed in the attack by Hamas. Hamas also took 251 hostages. Since then, Israel has continued to attack Gaza.
A Channel 12 report in August said Sariel was resisting calls to resign in July. He was saying that any such action would be ‘cowardice’.
The head of the 8200 intelligence unit is generally not disclosed. However, Sariel’s identity was leaked in a Guardian report last April.
Meanwhile, in the context of the October 7 attack, several others resigned from the top positions of the Israeli army.
Source: The Times of Israel