Waterloo on the horizon: Israeli military on brink of collapse

TEHRAN- The fundamental reason behind Israel’s inability to avert the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, has remained the major elephant in the room. 

On Friday, an Israeli opposition politician reopened old wounds by asking the Israeli military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi to step down. 

Gadi Eisenkot, a member of Israel’s Knesset with the opposition National Unity party, demanded that Halevi, resign along with “those who had a role on October 7, from division commanders and their counterparts to the prime minister”.

Speaking to Israeli media, Eisenkot, who served as the 21st Chief of Staff of the regime’s army from 2015 to 2019, said Halevi “will not be forgiven” for the “giant failure” in preventing the Hamas attack dubbed the Al-Aqsa Storm. 

Eisenkot was also the war cabinet observer of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyuahu’s emergency unity collation. He stepped down along with cabinet minister Benny Gantz in June. 

Gadi Eisenkot has urged military chief Herzi Halevi to resign over his inability to prevent the Al-Aqsa Storm

More than 1,100 people were killed and about 250 others were taken captive when Hamas carried out the surprise military operation in southern Israel. Dozens of the captives still remain in Gaza. 

The Al-Aqsa Storm was followed by Israel’s war of genocide on Gaza. The Israeli army has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians in Gaza since launching the onslaught. But it has failed to eliminate Hamas and return the remaining captives. 

Meanwhile, the Israel army’s Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Amir Baram notified Halevi in a letter on Friday that he would resign. 

“Under the current state of affairs, my ability to contribute as deputy chief of staff is limited, and I have no intention of serving in this position for three or four full years… Of course in the future, I am willing to fill any role required in the defense establishment,” Baram said.

Relations between Halevi and Baram have been somewhat strained amid the Gaza war, despite denials from their offices, that’s according to the Times of Israel. 

The Israeli army’s Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Amir Baram locks horns with Herzi Halevi over the regime’s military failures

Baram’s letter has been construed as a veiled criticism of Halevi who has already indicated he would resign from the military over his role on failing to prevent the Al-Aqsa Storm. 

Baram has been seen as a potential successor to Halevi for several years. His letter now indicates his intention to pursue the position of chief of staff following Halevi’s resignation.

The Israeli army has been shaken by a wave of high-profile military and security resignations since Hamas conducted the Al-Aqsa Storm. 

The Hamas operation exposed Israel’s extreme vulnerability. 

Le Monde wrote in October 2023 that the Israeli army’s defenses “collapsed like a house of cards” after Hamas launched the operation. 

Since its establishment in 1948, Israel had presented its army as invincible.

 But the Hamas attack shattered the image of Israel’s invincibility. 

The Al-Aqsa Storm has increasingly exposed Israel as a paper tiger.  

The wave of resignations and calls on senior Israeli military officials to step down are just a smokescreen to divert attention away from the regime’s degradation. 

Israel will ultimately meet its Waterloo in the face of rising resistance; it is merely a question of time before this occurs.