Brig. Gen. Avi Rosenfeld, commander of the Israel Defense Forces’ Gaza Division, announced his resignation on Sunday, citing his failure to protect southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
“I failed in my life’s mission to protect the [Gaza] envelope. Everyone has to take responsibility for their part and I am the one in charge of Division 143,” he wrote in his resignation letter.
“On the morning of Simchat Torah, a war broke out by surprise, without warning. For many hours we were unable to protect the settlements, the tens of thousands of residents, the thousands celebrating at the party in the [Kibbutz] Re’im parking lot and the forces in the outposts against the thousands of terrorists,” he wrote.
Speaking of his division’s efforts to stop the Oct. 7 attack, which cost the lives of 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and led to the capture of more than 240, of whom 120 are still in captivity, Rosenfled said he carries with him every day the “the heavy price paid by the citizens and soldiers of the IDF and the security forces and the loss of many friends.”
Israel is fighting “the most just war of our generation,” he said, adding that he was confident the IDF wouldn’t tire and would continue to fight until its goals were achieved, leading to a “fundamental change” in the security situation so that there would “no longer be an army of armed terrorists on our border.”
The Jewish communities in the region would return to “grow, expand and flourish,” he wrote.
“It sounds far, it will be long and difficult—but it will be our victory,” he said.
