Tel Aviv, 3 May 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Israel has named General Shlomi Binder as new military intelligence director, the military said on Thursday.

Binder's predecessor, Major General Aharon Haliva, resigned last month, saying he wanted to fulfil his leadership responsibilities following the "events of October 7."

Militants from the militant Palestinian Hamas movement and other groups murdered more than 1,200 people in their massacre on October 7 last year and abducted around 250 and took them to the Gaza Strip.

Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant agreed to Haliva's request for his resignation at the time. Military sources said he would also leave the army as soon as a successor is found.

The Israeli military also announced further new appointments to the general staff on Thursday. The appointments were agreed after a "lengthy process" by Gallant and Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi.

But the new appointments were criticised by some Israeli MPs. They insist on waiting until after the end of the Gaza war. Israel's far-right police minister even demanded the resignation of the defence minister after the announcement.

The news website ynet wrote that the new appointments could deepen the rift between the political leadership and the security establishment.

According to reports, there is growing resentment within the army, for example, that the government is not developing a plan for the future of the Gaza Strip.

This would jeopardise the war aims, such as the long-term destruction of Hamas, also because the power vacuum resulting from the lack of a plan for the coastal area would encourage the resurgence of the Islamist organisation.

Photo: MIA archive