A senior Israeli officer, Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano, has informed his subordinates that he does not intend to pursue the position of Chief of Staff and plans to retire from military service after his current role, Israeli media reported.

Toledano currently heads the Israeli military's Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate, overseeing operations concerning Iran.

According to Israeli media, Toledano conveyed to his subordinates that he would step down from the military once his tenure ends and would not seek any other roles within the occupation military, including the position of Chief of Staff.

Toledano’s name had surfaced in recent media reports as a potential successor to current Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, who has signaled his intention to resign following the completion of investigations into the October 7 failures.

Previously, Toledano served as the head of the Southern Command until July 2023 and, before that, commanded the Gaza Division. He also held the position of military secretary to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli military chiefs 'failed miserably' in preventing Oct 7: Probe

In November, the Independent Civilian Commission of Inquiry found that multiple Israeli military chiefs, including Benny Gantz, share responsibility for failing to prevent the Palestinian Resistance's Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7. 

The commission blamed past and current security leaderships for promoting a smaller army with excessive reliance on technology, as well as for reducing military forces along the Gaza border.

It also condemned former Security Minister Yoav Gallant, military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, and other senior officials for the lack of preparedness among soldiers at Southern Command bases and for abandoning female field observers during the attack.

The commission also held the Israeli military leadership responsible for "ignoring all warning lights" and failing to act on intelligence indicating a potential operation by the Resistance. This included disregarding warnings from field observers and not responding to multiple failures in the field. It also criticized the "lawless atmosphere" in settler communities near Gaza.

The commission further stated that the Israeli military failed to act on plans for the attack, despite having prior intelligence, and failed to convey critical warnings on the evening of October 6 and the morning of October 7.

As a result, soldiers in the field were left unprepared, with no reinforcements for hours. The report concludes that the Southern Command and Gaza Division “failed miserably", resulting in a collapse of defense systems and that the command echelon failed both in intelligence and in planning a rapid response to the operation.

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