Middle East: Israeli generals resign over October 7 attacks

A number of international airlines suspended service to Israel and the Middle East as the conflict in the region escalated. Now, as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas holds into its third day, airlines have begun to announce the resumption of flights.

Air France was the first to make the announcement, saying that it will resume flights from Paris to Tel Aviv on January 25, with services to Beirut to follow in the coming weeks. 

German carrier Lufthansa will resume their flights to the region on February 1, and Dutch carrier KLM has said it will do so in late March.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Tuesday called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government to follow the example of Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and step down over the security and intelligence breakdown that led to more than 1,200 deaths and the kidnapping of nearly 250 people by the Islamist group Hamas on October 7, 2023.

Lapid praised Halevi for stepping down and said, "Now, it is time for them to take responsibility and resign — the prime minister and his entire catastrophic government."

Halevi, who was Israel's top military officer, resigned earlier in the day — effective March 6 — over what he described as the "failure" of October 7. 

Netanyahu has come under intense public criticism for allowing the attack to happen as well as theexecution of the war his government has waged ever since.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman said that his government hopes to see the Palestinian Authority (PA) regain power in Gaza once the war between Israel and Hamas comes to an end.

"We hope to see the PA back in Gaza. We hope to see a government that will really address the issues of the people over there, and there is a long way to go with Gaza and the destruction." 

The Islamist militant group Hamas has controlled the enclave since 2007 — when it drove the PA out of after a brief civil war — and sparked the current conflict when it launched a surprise attack against Israel on October 7, 2023.

Qatar mediated the current ceasefire and expressed the need for both sides to negotiate "in good faith" in order to allow Gazans and Israelis to live in peace. 

"If they are embarking in this in good faith, this will last and hopefully will lead to phase two, (which) will lead to a permanent ceasefire," said Prime Minister bin Abdulrahman.

Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's far-right finance minister, on Tuesday welcomed US President Donald Trump's reversal of sanctions on Israeli settlers and violent individuals accused of attacking Palestinians as laid out by Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden.

Smotrich called the turnabout an "expression of your deep connection to the Jewish people and our historical right to our land" in a social media message to Trump.

Biden's sanctions froze the US assets of Israeli settlers and settler groups as well as barring US citizens and companies from doing business with them.

The sanctions were seen as a tool to pressure the Israeli government to crack down on violence that the US believed threatened the so-called two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians.

Smotrich called the sanctions, "a severe and blatant foreign intervention in Israel's internal affairs and an unjustified violation of democratic principles and the mutual respect between friendly nations."

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Israeli forces said they launched a "significant and broad military operation" against Palestinian militants in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on Tuesday.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least six people were killed and 35 more wounded – although it doesn't distinguish between militants and civilians.

The ceasefire with Hamas over the weekend does not apply to the West Bank, which Israel captured in 1967 and which has seen a surge of violence since the start of the current war.

Israeli troops have conducted almost-daily raids in the area which often ignite gunbattles, while Jewish settlers have also launched their own attacks, including a violent rampage through two Palestinian villages on Monday night.

Hamas, which has reestablished a visible presence on the streets of Gaza since the ceasefire, condemned the operation and called on Palestinians in the West Bank to step up their own attacks.

The Chief of the General Staff of Israel's armed forces has announced his resignation, citing security and intelligence failures that left Israel exposed to Hamas' surprise attack on October 7, 2023.

Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, the most senior Israeli commander, resigned saying the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) under his command had "failed in [their] mission to defend the State of Israel" but insisted that they had made "significant achievements" in the retaliatory campaign since.

Israel claims it has killed over 17,000 militants in the Gaza Strip, although it has not provided any evidence, while the Hamas-run health ministry in the enclave says over 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, the majority of whom they say were women and children.

In a letter to Israel's Defense Minister, Israel Katz, Halevi said he would remain in the post until the completion of the Israel Defense Force (IDF)'s investigation into the October 7 attack before standing down on March 6.

"I will transfer command of the IDF in a high-quality and thorough manner to my successor," he said.

Major General Yaron Finkelman, the head of Israel's Southern Command, which oversees operations in Gaza, also tendered his resignation.

mf/jcg (Reuters, AP, dpa, AFP)