The resignation of Israel’s military chief has drawn reactions from senior leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who framed it as a weakening of the Israeli government after October 7.
Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, who announced on Tuesday his intention to step down on March 6, admitted responsibility for the security lapse during Hamas's cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which marked the start of the conflict.
The Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC, Hossein Salami, described the resignation as "a clear sign of the Zionists' defeat in the Gaza war."
"When Gaza achieved victory, it means Islam achieved victory. This resistance is an inspiration for Muslims," Salami said on Thursday.
The Deputy Coordinator of the IRGC, Mohammadreza Naghdi, linked the resignation to what he described as broader challenges facing the Israeli government, asserting that resistance movements—Tehran's term for its proxy militias across the region—had significantly weakened its position.
“The Zionist regime, which considered itself the most powerful country in the region, is now collapsing in the face of the resistance of nations,” Naghdi said.
Over recent weeks, analysts and experts have contended that it is Tehran's “Axis of Resistance” that has been significantly weakened, pointing to the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's rule in Syria and the heavy losses sustained by Hezbollah and Hamas in recent military conflicts with Israel.
In his resignation letter to Israel’s defense minister, Lt. Gen. Halevi acknowledged that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had “failed in its mission to protect the citizens of Israel” during the deadly attack by Hamas.
“My responsibility for the terrible failure accompanies me every day, every hour, and will be so for the rest of my life,” he wrote.
The October 7 attack by Hamas, an Iran-backed militant group, involved gunmen breaching Israel's border from Gaza and led to one of the most devastating wars in the region in recent memory, with over 1,400 people killed and more than 200 taken hostage.
