Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi: I Bear Responsibility for the IDF's Failure to Protect Israeli Citizens

JAKARTA - Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said that he bears responsibility for the IDF's failure to protect Israeli citizens, something that haunts him every day, but also ensured that they would complete their mission in Gaza.

Lieutenant General Halevi made the remarks while attending a Remembrance Day ceremony at Jerusalem's Western Wall, saying he was responsible for providing answers to the families of soldiers killed Sunday.

"As commander of the Israel Defense Forces during the war, I bear responsibility for the fact that the IDF failed in its mission to protect the citizens of the State of Israel on October 7. I feel the weight on my shoulders every day and in my heart, I understand exactly what it means," he said as reported The Times of Israel, May 13.

"I was the commander who sent your sons and daughters to the battlefield from which they could not return, and to the posts from which they were kidnapped," he continued, referring to the attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel's southern region on October 7.

Israeli estimates say that as a result of the attack, around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 others were taken hostage by militant groups.

"Every day I carry the memory of those who died, and I am responsible for answering the penetrating questions that keep you awake," he said.

"I don't know all the fallen, but I will never forget them. I don't have time to visit their homes, but I will always be committed to you, parents, daughters and sons, brothers and sisters, partners, grandparents," he continued.

"I am humbled by your courage to confront the pain, find strength in everything behind the heavy loss, and bring new meaning into the open void," he said.

The IDF Chief of Staff vowed, "In this war, we are determined to complete the mission, even though we understand the costs."

"As long as the enemy rises up against us, we will be on guard, we will be ready and alert, we will respond harshly to any attempt to harm us, and we will avenge those who seek to kill us," he added.