JERUSALEM >> Israel’s top general resigned Tuesday, taking responsibility for security failures tied to Hamas’ surprise attack that triggered the war in Gaza and adding to pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has delayed any public inquiry that could potentially implicate his leadership.

While a fragile new ceasefire in the Gaza Strip held, Israel launched a “significant and broad” military operation in the occupied West Bank, killing at least nine people and injuring 40, Palestinian officials said.

Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi is the most senior Israeli figure to resign over the security and intelligence breakdown on Oct. 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led militants carried out a land, sea and air assault into southern Israel, rampaging through army bases and nearby communities.

The attack — the single deadliest on Israel in its history — killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and the militants abducted another 250. More than 90 captives are still in Gaza, around a third believed to be dead.

Halevi’s resignation, effective March 6, came days into the ceasefire with Hamas that could lead to an end to the 15-month war and the return of remaining captives. Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, head of Israel’s Southern Command, which oversees operations in Gaza, also resigned.

Their resignations will likely add to calls for a public inquiry into the Oct. 7 failures, something Netanyahu has said must wait until the war is over. Halevi’s resignation letter noted that the military’s investigations into those failures were “currently in their final stages.”

And Halevi made his most explicit call yet for a public inquiry in comments to journalists, saying it would be “granted full transparency” by the military.

Halevi had appeared to be at odds with Israel’s new defense minister, Israel Katz, over the direction of the war. He said Israel had accomplished most of its goals, while Katz echoed Netanyahu’s vow to keep fighting until “total victory” over Hamas. Katz replaced the popular Yoav Gallant, who Netanyahu dismissed in a surprise announcement in November after growing disagreements over the war.

Another major operation in the West Bank

The ceasefire that started Sunday does not apply to the West Bank, where Israel announced new operation against Palestinian militants in Jenin. The city has seen repeated Israeli incursions and gunbattles with militants in recent years.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on security forces to use “maximum restraint” in the West Bank, a spokesman said.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek an independent state encompassing all three territories.