Israel's military chief has dismissed several senior personnel and reprimanded others over their roles in failures during the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
The military said several officers had been notified they would be released from reserve duty and would no longer serve, including the former heads of the intelligence directorate, operations directorate and southern command, which is responsible for Gaza. The generals had previously resigned from active service but remained on reserve duty.
Others were issued formal reprimands, while another tendered his resignation.
Israeli military chief of staff Eyal Zamir said the army "is committed to a thorough, professional, and in-depth inquiry of everything that occurred on that terrible day".
He said it had "failed in its primary mission on October 7 – to protect the civilians of the State of Israel", and added: "This is a severe, resounding, systemic failure, relating to decisions and conduct on the eve of the event and during it."
The disciplinary steps come as Israeli officials face mounting public pressure over accountability for the failures that led to the attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has not yet opened a national inquiry into October 7. On Saturday, thousands of protesters were joined by opposition leaders in Tel Aviv demanding a state commission of inquiry.
The assault by Hamas and other Palestinian factions just over two years ago killed around 1,200 people in Israel, with 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
The attack triggered Israel's ground and air campaign in Gaza, which has devastated large parts of the enclave and killed more than 69,700 people, Palestinian health authorities say.
Israel and Hamas reached a US-brokered ceasefire agreement last month, as part of the first phase of a plan to end the war.
Golan Heights drill
Separately, the Israeli military began a two-day exercise in Syria's occupied Golan Heights and the Valleys region on Monday morning.
The army said the purpose of the exercise "is to examine and improve" the readiness of troops "for a variety of scenarios".
It said the exercise would involve the active movement of forces in the Golan Heights and Valleys, explosions, and the movement of aircraft.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in a 1967 war and later annexed it, in a move not recognised by most countries. Syria has demanded that Israel returns to an original buffer zone, but senior Israeli officials have said they will not relinquish the new posts.
Last week, Mr Netanyahu visited Israeli troops in southern Syria, drawing strong condemnation from the government in Damascus, which denounced the trip as a violation of its sovereignty.
Israel expanded its military presence in southern Syria after the ousting of Bashar Al Assad last December, seizing positions east of the UN-patrolled buffer zone that separates the Golan Heights from Syrian territory.
"We attach immense importance to our capability here, both defensive and offensive, safeguarding our Druze allies, and especially safeguarding the State of Israel and its northern border opposite the Golan Heights," Mr Netanyahu told troops at the time. "This is a mission that can develop at any moment."
The government in Damascus said Mr Netanyahu's visit was "a dangerous violation of Syrian sovereignty and unity" and called it an attempt to "impose a fait accompli".
