Unit 8200 commander resigns: 'Responsibility for 8200's part in failure rests entirely with me'

IDF Brig.-Gen. Yossi Sariel, the commander of IDF Intelligence Unit 8200, informed IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi of his resignation on Thursday.

Since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas War, much criticism has been directed at Military Intelligence Chief Aharon Haliva, as well as other senior intelligence IDF commanders. Sariel is one such commander, sworn in in February 2021.

The key criticism against these commanders is their failure to provide a warning about Hamas’s invasion on October 7, when the terror organization took 253 people hostage and massacred approximately 1,200 other. Haliva was among the first senior IDF intelligence commanders to take responsibility for the failure; in April, he resigned.

On Thursday, Sariel announced his resignation in the coming weeks. His decision will pave the way for a General Staff discussion, which will result in the selection of the next commander of Unit 8200. “The unit, which has become an international brand, is expected to undergo rehabilitation after the major crisis,” a security official told Walla.

In his resignation letter, Sariel stressed that he “failed to understand the need and therefore did not adequately reflect the requirements of the unique reality at the Gaza border.” He further explained that he “did not emphasize” the “reality where there are effectively two Nukhba commando divisions at the Gaza border, just minutes away from Israeli settlements,” or the gravity of repeated encounters between enemy forces and the IDF on the border.

“The responsibility for 8200’s part in the intelligence and operational failure rests entirely with me,” Sariel stressed in his resignation letter.

Commander's identity revealed

In addition to his role in the October 7 failure, Sariel faced another intelligence mishap. As the IDF’s 8200 Intelligence Unit commander, which often deals in classified operations, his name and identity must be kept secret. In April, however, the British news outlet The Guardian reported that Sariel’s identity was revealed following the publication of a book he wrote.

According to The Guardian, Sariel’s book was published on Amazon. Despite only having his initials listed, a strange glitch left “digital traces leading to a private Google account containing his full name, along with a unique ID and links to maps and his profile’s calendar.”

Shortly afterward, another report surfaced in the outlet, revealing that Sariel also held Facebook, Instagram, Skype, and LinkedIn accounts. His Facebook account, now deleted, even had a photo of him.

Amir Bohbot contributed to this report.