In a parting speech, Maj. Gen. Nimrod Aloni, resigning from the military after some 34 years of service, slammed the Israel Defense Forces for not taking responsibility for its failures on October 7, 2023, and beyond.
Aloni headed the IDF’s Military Colleges and the shadowy Depth Corps. Maj. Gen. Dan Goldfus took over the Depth Corps during a ceremony on Monday. Last month, Maj. Gen. Dan Noyman took over from Aloni as head of the Military Colleges.
Aloni, at the handover ceremony, said he was “leaving an army in which the concept of responsibility has been trampled and desecrated, and which has lost the confidence to put its failures on the table.”
“Two years ago, we tried to contain our enemies from south and north, thinking that time would do us good, for the economy and growth, and that we could preserve the status quo over time. We were wrong, all of us,” he said.
Aloni, in his parting speech, did not mention that he had commanded the Gaza Division — the regional unit responsible for the Strip — between 2020 and 2022, a year before the October 7 onslaught.
The Depth Corps was recently reorganized to be responsible for military operations beyond Israel’s borders, especially within the so-called “second circle,” meaning Iran’s proxies in Yemen and Iraq.
At the ceremony, Goldfus said the “transformation of the Depth Corps is not the result of an organizational initiative or distant vision, but rather a matter of urgency” amid Israel’s ongoing multifront war.
“Our enemies are learning, strengthening, and changing. The range of fire is extending, and their technological capabilities are expanding, and the threat is not dependent on their geographical proximity,” he said.
“Just this morning, another Houthi missile was launched toward the State of Israel. The distant threat is near, and it too must be confronted and defeated,” Goldfus said.
The Houthis — whose slogan calls for “Death to America, Death to Israel, [and] a Curse on the Jews” — began attacking Israel and maritime traffic in November 2023, a month after the October 7 Hamas massacre.
Since then, the group has fired some 130 missiles and more than 150 explosive-laden drones at Israel, causing death, injury, damage, and regularly sending hundreds of thousands of Israelis scrambling to shelters at all hours of the day or night.
Goldfus previously headed the Northern Corps, a relatively junior and dormant role in the General Staff. Before that, he commanded the 98th Division during months of fighting in the Gaza Strip.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said at the ceremony that the military was set to further develop small commando teams to carry out clandestine operations behind enemy lines, headed by the Depth Corps.
“A strong and relevant Depth Corps is a central part of our source of strength in war. On the battlefield, we must think of the exceptional: small, professional commando forces operating in the enemy’s depth, with special capabilities and advanced technologies,” he said.
“Micro-tactical–scale forces operating with the right concept, alongside the maneuvering mass on the combat front, can prove that small and sophisticated can be, and should be, an effective complement,” he said.
“We must combine combat mass with small, sophisticated forces; forward units operating with a low signature in the enemy’s rear, with minimal friction and maximum effect, will accelerate progress toward the campaign’s objectives and throw the enemy off balance,” Zamir said, adding that he directed the Depth Corps to “refine this concept and bring new, innovative ideas.”