IDF Chief Zamir expels 3 generals from reserve duty, censures 3 others over army’s ‘failure to defend Israel’ on Oct 7

“The IDF failed in its principal mission on October 7, to defend the citizens of the State of Israel,” Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir declared on Sunday, announcing that several senior officers would be punished for their personal part in the catastrophe of the Hamas invasion.

In a highly unusual move, Zamir on Sunday summoned several current and former generals to his office at the IDF headquarters to announce their personal punishments.

Three retired officers with the rank of major general were expelled from reserve duty, while three others currently serving on the general staff will be reprimanded and barred from continuing in service once their current posts end.

Former IDF Intelligence chief, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Aharon Haliva, who was the first general to resign over his personal failures leading up to and during the Hamas invasion, was dismissed from reserve service.

The former head of the Operations Directorate, Maj.-Gen. Oded Basiuk, and the former head of the Southern Command, Maj.-Gen. Yaron Finkelman received the same punishment.

The Operations Directorate was responsible for forming the intelligence picture of the situation during the invasion and coordinating the response, while the Southern Command was the headquarters directly responsible for the units guarding the Gaza border.

The IDF noted that Basiuk’s and Finkelman's “command and professional actions from that day onward" were carried out with excellence.

Outgoing Air Force Commander Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar received a severe reprimand for his unit’s failure to defend Israel's airspace from “low-altitude threats” (drones).

However, it was noted that this failure “reflected broad systemic gaps throughout the IDF, which are currently being addressed,” and that Bar “led the Air Force to unprecedented multi-front achievements.”

Maj.-Gen. Shlomi Binder also received a severe reprimand. He was controversially promoted to head the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate after heading the Operations Division during the Oct. 7 attack and will serve his term but retire at its end.

The military said Binder “bore command responsibility for the events of Oct. 7” but since then “has led the directorate to operational successes across all arenas, while carrying out significant recovery and transformation processes during wartime.”

Israeli Navy Commander Maj.-Gen. David Saar Salama also received a harsh reprimand for his “responsibility for the failure to prevent the infiltration from the sea to the Zikim coast.”

The military added, “Salama led the Navy to operational achievements across all war arenas as part of the naval campaign over the past two years.”

In a statement on Sunday evening, Zamir noted he saw two urgent missions when he took up the post of army chief.

“The first – to lead the IDF to victory and decisive achievement in a multi-front war and, within that, the removal of existential threats and the return of the hostages. The second – to strengthen the public’s trust in the IDF and to ensure that the events of October 7 will never happen again.”

“My conclusions present a clear picture – the IDF failed in its principal mission on October 7, to defend the citizens of the State of Israel. This is a grave, resounding, and systemic failure, relating to decisions and conduct both before and during the event,” he continued.

“The lessons of that day are many and significant, and they must serve as our compass toward the future, which I intend to lead the army into,” Zamir vowed.

Several other senior officers received punishments, and the IDF stated that several junior officers will also receive punishments and reprimands.

The former head of the Intelligence Directorate’s Operations Division, Brig.-Gen. G., will retire from IDF service immediately.

Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Sariel, who headed the Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 8200, which failed to issue a warning ahead of the invasion, and Brig.-Gen. (res.) Avi Rosenfeld, who commanded the Gaza Division that collapsed under Hamas’ onslaught, will be dismissed from reserve service.

Retired Col. Ariel Lubovsky, who served as Intelligence Officer of the Southern Command; Retired Col. Haim Cohen, who commanded the Northern Brigade of the Gaza Division; and Intelligence Officer Shahariel Berkovich were all dismissed from reserve service due to their direct responsibility for the events of Oct. 7.

In addition, Lt.-Col. A., who is still on active duty and served as an intelligence officer in the Gaza Division on Oct. 7, will be released from the IDF immediately.

Zamir’s decisions are expected to spark further controversy. For example, he chose not to censure three officers whose promotions had been frozen in recent months by Defense Minister Israel Katz over their alleged failures.

In addition, Maj.-Gen. Ghassan Alian, head of Israel's COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories), was not summoned and is not expected to receive a punishment.

Alian is the last senior officer in the IDF who has not acknowledged any personal responsibility for the failures of his unit, which oversees Israel’s non-military interactions in the Gaza Strip.

In his statement, Zamir told his subordinates that the decisions affecting “people I value and who have devoted their lives to the security of the state – people with whom I have fought side by side for decades” were not easy.

“Alongside this, I am guided by the duty to draw a clear line of command responsibility… If we do not sharpen the meaning of responsibility, trust in the system will erode – and this trust is the basis of our ability to fight, to win, and to defend the State of Israel.”

The IDF chief also urged Israeli citizens not to treat the punished officers too harshly, noting they “are among our finest commanders. All of them devoted most of their lives to the IDF and to the State of Israel.”

“We also bear a responsibility toward them as a society; our treatment of them will influence the next generation of commanders and also those who bear that responsibility today. We must not be a country that ‘devours its commanders’ – we do not have that privilege,” said Zamir.