The Israeli military has said its head of intelligence has resigned over failures surrounding Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack.

Maj Gen Aharon Haliva has become the first senior Israeli figure to step down after Hamas breached the country’s defences, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, taking roughly 250 more captive, and sparking the war against Hamas in Gaza.

The official said shortly after the attack in October that he shouldered the blame for not preventing the assault.

The Israeli military said in a statement that the military chief of staff accepted Maj Gen Haliva’s request to resign and thanked him for his service.

His resignation could set the stage for more of Israel’s top security officials to accept blame for not preventing the attack and step down.

Maj Gen Haliva wrote in his resignation letter, which was provided by the military: “The intelligence directorate under my command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with. I carry that black day with me ever since, day after day, night after night. I will carry the pain with me forever.”

The intelligence chief and other military and security leaders were widely expected to resign in response to the glaring failures that led up to the October 7 attack.

But the timing of the resignations has been unclear because Israel is still fighting Hamas in Gaza and battling the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in the north. Tensions with Iran are also at a high following attacks between the two enemies.

While Maj Gen Haliva and others have accepted blame for failing to stop the attack, others have stopped short, most notably Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has said he will answer tough questions about his role but has not outright acknowledged direct responsibility for allowing the attack to unfold. He has also not indicated that he will step down.

The Hamas attack, which came on a Jewish holiday, caught Israel and its vaunted security establishment entirely off guard.

Israelis’ sense of faith in their military – seen by most Jews as one of the country’s most trustworthy institutions – was shattered in the face of Hamas’ onslaught. The resignation could help restore some of that trust.

The attack set off the devastating war that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health officials, at least two-thirds of them children and women.

It has devastated Gaza’s two largest cities, and driven 80% of the territory’s population to flee to other parts of the besieged coastal enclave. The war has sparked a humanitarian catastrophe that has drawn warnings of imminent famine.

The attack also sent shock waves through the region. Tensions have rocked the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as well as cities and towns within Israel itself.

On Monday, Israeli police said that a car had slammed into pedestrians in Jerusalem, leaving three with light injuries. Security camera video showed two men exiting the car with a rifle before the fleeing the scene. Police later said they arrested the two men.