Israel military intel chief quits over Oct 7 Hamas attack

The Israeli military's intelligence chief has resigned, saying he took responsibility for the failures before Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October, BBC reports.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Major General Aharon Haliva would retire once his successor was selected.

In a letter, he acknowledged that his intelligence directorate "did not live up to the task we were entrusted with".

He is the first senior figure to step down over the attack, which was the deadliest in Israel's history.

Israeli military and intelligence officials missed or ignored multiple warnings before hundreds of Hamas gunmen breached the Gaza border fence that day and attacked nearby Israeli communities, military bases and a music festival.

About 1,200 Israelis and foreigners - mostly civilians - were killed and 253 others were taken back to Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel responded by launching its most intense-ever war in Gaza with the aim of destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages.

More than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza - most of them children and women - have been killed in the conflict, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says.