Tremor in the IDF: 8200 Commander Announces Resignation: "Sorry"

Shariel will be stepping down from his role in the near future. He is the fifth senior official in Military Intelligence (Aman) to leave their position as a result of the October 7th failure, which many view as an intelligence oversight. Before Shariel, the Chief of Aman, Major General Aharon Haliva, Head of the Research Division Brigadier General Amit Saar, the Intelligence Officer of the Southern Command Colonel A, and the Intelligence Officer of the Gaza Division, Lieutenant Colonel A, had also announced their resignations.

In his resignation letter, Shariel wrote, among other things: "We all failed as an intelligence and operational system in connecting the dots to see the overall picture and prepare against the threat. Personally – I failed to understand sufficiently and therefore did not reflect enough, that in the unique reality at the Gaza border, we as a system are committed to a different risk management approach. In a reality where there are effectively two commando divisions of Nukhba at the Gaza border, just minutes away from Israeli settlements, it is impossible to rely on SIGINT warning space. The responsibility for Unit 8200's part lies entirely with me. I offer a deep apology. I bow my head."

Shariel joined the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate in 1997, serving as an intelligence and cyber officer in Unit 8200. He then served as an intelligence officer in Division 91, Head of the Northern Arena in the Research Division, Intelligence Officer of the Central Command, and Head of the Operational Activation Division in Aman. In 2018, he was awarded the Israel Security Prize for an artificial intelligence project and a counter-terrorism project.

On February 28, 2021, he was appointed as the commander of Unit 8200, replacing Brigadier General Assaf Kochan, who resigned. Shariel held this position during Operation Iron Swords.