IDF Intelligence Analyst Chief Brigadier General Amit Sarr, considered by some to be the official most responsible for failing to foresee the Oct. 7 invasion by Hamas, on Thursday cited cancerous growth. announced that he would resign immediately.
According to the IDF, Saar began feeling seriously unwell several weeks ago and recently updated the IDF that he had finally been diagnosed with cancer and needed to resign to receive treatment.
In mid-March, Saar said in a closed military intelligence conference that he would resign as soon as the IDF’s investigation into the Oct. 7 failure, with its impending findings scheduled for June, was made public.
Saar is the most senior Israeli official to resign so far, but IDF officials say he is expected to finish his role by the end of the summer anyway.
Former IDF Chief Intelligence Analyst Itai Bran, who held the role from 2011 to 2015, will replace Saar on an emergency and temporary basis in the coming months until the IDF considers the issue of a permanent replacement.
Who will take over that role permanently?
A permanent replacement would be controversial. This is because, with some senior officials themselves expected to resign in 2024, including IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Helj Halevi, some political officials believe that the current IDF high command will not be able to replace such an important successor. This is because they would probably oppose choosing .
Prior to this, the Southern Command’s top intelligence officer, Colonel A, and IDF Intermediate Intelligence Major resigned on October 7th. An IDF colonel also resigned over an inappropriate romantic relationship with his subordinate.
At a higher level, Halevi, IDF intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Hariba, and Shin Bet chief Ronen Barr all hinted at resigning months ago, but did not specify a deadline. Given that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing for Remain, he may try to remain in the country.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has previously gone further than Prime Minister Netanyahu, saying that although Netanyahu accepts some responsibility, he did not indicate whether he would resign, thereby denying responsibility for October 7. I denied it.
Saar’s mid-March statement came hours after Israel Defense Force Brig. General Dan Goldfuss called on the country’s leaders to “make it worth” the many IDF soldiers who have died in combat.
Until October 7, Mr. Saar was considered a genius analyst who accurately predicted various developments regarding Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas.
Prime Minister Saar also sent Netanyahu four letters warning that Israel’s adversaries could attack Israel more aggressively because the defense establishment has been weakened by judicial reform discussions initiated by Prime Minister Netanyahu. Sent to.
Prime Minister Netanyahu ignored most of the letters, with a fourth letter scheduled to be sent shortly after October 7.
Saar’s announcement and the findings of the June investigation could lead to more widespread resignations.
