Today (Sunday), the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir, summoned a series of senior commanders and informed them of his decision to impose command measures on them, due to command responsibility for the events of October 7th. In addition, several lower-ranking officers were summoned to their respective commanders.
The IDF is committed to a thorough, professional, and in-depth inquiry of everything that occurred on that terrible day, and as part of that obligation the Chief of the General Staff decided on a series of steps to advance the issue including the establishment of an independent review team to examine the inquiries and their quality. The IDF failed in its primary mission on October 7th — to protect the civilians of the State of Israel. This is a severe, resounding, systemic failure, relating to decisions and conduct on the eve of the event and during it.
The Chief of the General Staff focused his decisions on senior commanders whose command responsibility derives from their position on October 7th. This is not responsibility we take upon ourselves, but responsibility we bear by virtue of being senior commanders in the IDF.
The commanders who bear responsibility are among the most experienced and dedicated in the IDF, who have acted for years for the security of the nation and who, during their careers, also led unprecedented achievements.
Details of the command measures:
- MG (Res.) Aharon Haliva – The general bore command responsibility for the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as Head of the Intelligence Directorate.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that the general will be released from reserve service and will no longer serve in the IDF.
- MG Oded Basyuk – The general bore command responsibility for the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as Head of the Operations Directorate. His command and professional actions from that day onward, and the achievements he led the IDF to during the war, were performed with excellence, particularly in leading the synchronisation, planning, and execution of Operation “Rising Lion.”
The Chief of the General Staff decided that the general will be released from reserve service and will no longer serve in the IDF.
- MG Yaron Finkelman – The general, who had just started his role, bore command responsibility for the events of October 7th by virtue of his position as Commander of the Southern Command. His command and professional actions from that day onward, the recovery, and the transition to operational activity during the war were carried out with courage and determination, as he led the operation in the Gaza Strip and later the process of delivering the inquiries to the communities.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that the general will be released from reserve service and will no longer serve in the IDF.
- Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar – The general bore command responsibility for the Air Force’s failure to defend the country’s airspace against low-altitude threats on October 7th. The failure reflected broad systemic gaps across the IDF, currently being addressed through war lessons-learned processes. Maj. Gen. Bar led the Israeli Air Force in recent years to unprecedented multi-front achievements, especially in leading Operation “Rising Lion.”
The Chief of the General Staff decided that the general will receive a command reprimand.
VAdm. David Saar Salma – the general bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as Commander of the Navy, including the fact that a sea infiltration toward Zikim Beach was not prevented. VAdm. Salama led the Israeli Navy over the past two years to operational achievements across all war arenas as part of the maritime campaign.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that the general will receive a command reprimand.
MG Shlomi Binder – the general bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as Head of the Operations Division. The general was appointed Head of the Intelligence Directorate by the previous Chief of the General Staff, and since then he has led the directorate to operational successes across all arenas, alongside significant recovery and structural-change processes during wartime. The Chief of the General Staff views MG Binder as the most suitable commander at this time to lead the Intelligence Directorate given the operational challenges.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that the general will receive a command reprimand. Additionally, the Chief of the General Staff accepted his request that upon completing his tenure as Head of the Intelligence Directorate, he will retire from the IDF.
BG G. – bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as Head of the Operations Division within the Intelligence Directorate. The Chief of the General Staff decided that BG G. will retire from the IDF.
BG (Res.) Yossi Sariel – bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as Commander of Unit 8200.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that BG Sariel will be released from reserve service and will no longer serve in the IDF.
BG (Res.) Avi Rosenfeld – bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as Commander of the Gaza Division. During the first year of the war, he continued commanding the division and worked to stabilize the defense in his sector.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that BG Rosenfeld will be released from reserve service and will no longer serve in the IDF.
COL (Res.) Ariel Lubovski – bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as the Intelligence Officer of the Southern Command.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that COL Lubovski will be released from reserve service and will no longer serve in the IDF.
COL (Res.) Chaim Cohen – bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as Commander of the Northern Brigade of the Gaza Division.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that COL Cohen will be released from reserve service and will no longer serve in the IDF.
COL (Res.) Shariel Berkovich – bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his position in the Intelligence Directorate.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that COL Berkovich will be released from reserve service and will no longer serve in the IDF.
LTC A. – bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as the Intelligence Officer of the Gaza Division.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that an immediate process will begin to end his service in the IDF.
Regarding BG Manor Yanai, BG Eliad Moati, and COL Efraim Avni, the Chief of the General Staff decided that there is no obstacle to their continued service in the IDF.
From the failure of the events of October 7th, the IDF rose, fought, and defeated enemies across all arenas and achieved unprecedented accomplishments. Now that the investigation phase of the events of October 7th has concluded, the IDF is focused on embedding lessons learned and undergoing transformation as part of its recovery. The IDF will continue to act to ensure the security of the State of Israel, with the protection of Israeli civilians and the removal of threats in all arenas before us. We are in a period of systemic shaping, with many security challenges ahead — our responsibility is clear: an army that defends the state and ensures its existence.
From the remarks of the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir: “When I entered this role, I understood that we are in a critical period for our future. The main missions before me were: First, to lead the IDF to victory in the war, remove urgent existential threats - including the threat of the Iranian nuclear project - decisively defeat our enemies across the various arenas, and free the hostages. Second, to ensure that October 7th never repeats itself, and that the IDF thoroughly and deeply investigates everything that occurred during those terrible days. Accordingly, I ordered the establishment of an expert team to examine the quality of the inquiries, extract lessons, and form recommendations for implementing systemic and integrative conclusions. On the morning of October 7th, the IDF failed in its primary mission — protecting the civilians of the State of Israel. Now, after reviewing the conclusions, I have decided, after careful consideration, to implement command measures regarding commanders holding certain positions who served on October 7th. This decision stems from our commitment to the values and norms we expect of our commanders. These are individuals who dedicated their lives to Israel’s security, including those who looked at the failure head on, recovered, and led the IDF to unprecedented achievements. These personal conclusions are a necessary step in the recovery and growth process we must undertake as a military, to strengthen trust among our subordinates and Israel’s civilians. From here, we must continue forward, rebuild, and prepare for the many challenges ahead. We must ensure that every lesson is implemented, that we act proactively to stop threats as they form, driven by a deep commitment to the security of the nation and its citizens. We must ensure that the events of October 7th never happen again.”.
The IDF is committed to a thorough, professional, and in-depth inquiry of everything that occurred on that terrible day, and as part of that obligation the Chief of the General Staff decided on a series of steps to advance the issue including the establishment of an independent review team to examine the inquiries and their quality. The IDF failed in its primary mission on October 7th — to protect the civilians of the State of Israel. This is a severe, resounding, systemic failure, relating to decisions and conduct on the eve of the event and during it.
The Chief of the General Staff focused his decisions on senior commanders whose command responsibility derives from their position on October 7th. This is not responsibility we take upon ourselves, but responsibility we bear by virtue of being senior commanders in the IDF.
The commanders who bear responsibility are among the most experienced and dedicated in the IDF, who have acted for years for the security of the nation and who, during their careers, also led unprecedented achievements.
Details of the command measures:
- MG (Res.) Aharon Haliva – The general bore command responsibility for the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as Head of the Intelligence Directorate.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that the general will be released from reserve service and will no longer serve in the IDF.
- MG Oded Basyuk – The general bore command responsibility for the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as Head of the Operations Directorate. His command and professional actions from that day onward, and the achievements he led the IDF to during the war, were performed with excellence, particularly in leading the synchronisation, planning, and execution of Operation “Rising Lion.”
The Chief of the General Staff decided that the general will be released from reserve service and will no longer serve in the IDF.
- MG Yaron Finkelman – The general, who had just started his role, bore command responsibility for the events of October 7th by virtue of his position as Commander of the Southern Command. His command and professional actions from that day onward, the recovery, and the transition to operational activity during the war were carried out with courage and determination, as he led the operation in the Gaza Strip and later the process of delivering the inquiries to the communities.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that the general will be released from reserve service and will no longer serve in the IDF.
- Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar – The general bore command responsibility for the Air Force’s failure to defend the country’s airspace against low-altitude threats on October 7th. The failure reflected broad systemic gaps across the IDF, currently being addressed through war lessons-learned processes. Maj. Gen. Bar led the Israeli Air Force in recent years to unprecedented multi-front achievements, especially in leading Operation “Rising Lion.”
The Chief of the General Staff decided that the general will receive a command reprimand.
VAdm. David Saar Salma – the general bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as Commander of the Navy, including the fact that a sea infiltration toward Zikim Beach was not prevented. VAdm. Salama led the Israeli Navy over the past two years to operational achievements across all war arenas as part of the maritime campaign.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that the general will receive a command reprimand.
MG Shlomi Binder – the general bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as Head of the Operations Division. The general was appointed Head of the Intelligence Directorate by the previous Chief of the General Staff, and since then he has led the directorate to operational successes across all arenas, alongside significant recovery and structural-change processes during wartime. The Chief of the General Staff views MG Binder as the most suitable commander at this time to lead the Intelligence Directorate given the operational challenges.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that the general will receive a command reprimand. Additionally, the Chief of the General Staff accepted his request that upon completing his tenure as Head of the Intelligence Directorate, he will retire from the IDF.
BG G. – bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as Head of the Operations Division within the Intelligence Directorate. The Chief of the General Staff decided that BG G. will retire from the IDF.
BG (Res.) Yossi Sariel – bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as Commander of Unit 8200.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that BG Sariel will be released from reserve service and will no longer serve in the IDF.
BG (Res.) Avi Rosenfeld – bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as Commander of the Gaza Division. During the first year of the war, he continued commanding the division and worked to stabilize the defense in his sector.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that BG Rosenfeld will be released from reserve service and will no longer serve in the IDF.
COL (Res.) Ariel Lubovski – bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as the Intelligence Officer of the Southern Command.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that COL Lubovski will be released from reserve service and will no longer serve in the IDF.
COL (Res.) Chaim Cohen – bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as Commander of the Northern Brigade of the Gaza Division.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that COL Cohen will be released from reserve service and will no longer serve in the IDF.
COL (Res.) Shariel Berkovich – bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his position in the Intelligence Directorate.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that COL Berkovich will be released from reserve service and will no longer serve in the IDF.
LTC A. – bore command responsibility in the events of October 7th by virtue of his role as the Intelligence Officer of the Gaza Division.
The Chief of the General Staff decided that an immediate process will begin to end his service in the IDF.
Regarding BG Manor Yanai, BG Eliad Moati, and COL Efraim Avni, the Chief of the General Staff decided that there is no obstacle to their continued service in the IDF.
From the failure of the events of October 7th, the IDF rose, fought, and defeated enemies across all arenas and achieved unprecedented accomplishments. Now that the investigation phase of the events of October 7th has concluded, the IDF is focused on embedding lessons learned and undergoing transformation as part of its recovery. The IDF will continue to act to ensure the security of the State of Israel, with the protection of Israeli civilians and the removal of threats in all arenas before us. We are in a period of systemic shaping, with many security challenges ahead — our responsibility is clear: an army that defends the state and ensures its existence.
From the remarks of the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir: “When I entered this role, I understood that we are in a critical period for our future. The main missions before me were: First, to lead the IDF to victory in the war, remove urgent existential threats - including the threat of the Iranian nuclear project - decisively defeat our enemies across the various arenas, and free the hostages. Second, to ensure that October 7th never repeats itself, and that the IDF thoroughly and deeply investigates everything that occurred during those terrible days. Accordingly, I ordered the establishment of an expert team to examine the quality of the inquiries, extract lessons, and form recommendations for implementing systemic and integrative conclusions. On the morning of October 7th, the IDF failed in its primary mission — protecting the civilians of the State of Israel. Now, after reviewing the conclusions, I have decided, after careful consideration, to implement command measures regarding commanders holding certain positions who served on October 7th. This decision stems from our commitment to the values and norms we expect of our commanders. These are individuals who dedicated their lives to Israel’s security, including those who looked at the failure head on, recovered, and led the IDF to unprecedented achievements. These personal conclusions are a necessary step in the recovery and growth process we must undertake as a military, to strengthen trust among our subordinates and Israel’s civilians. From here, we must continue forward, rebuild, and prepare for the many challenges ahead. We must ensure that every lesson is implemented, that we act proactively to stop threats as they form, driven by a deep commitment to the security of the nation and its citizens. We must ensure that the events of October 7th never happen again.”.
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