The former chief of the Israeli military said more than 1 in 10 Palestinians in the enclave have been killed or injured since the war began nearly two years ago.
Speaking at the community of Ein HaBesor in southern Israel last week, former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said, “There are 2.2 million people in Gaza. There are in Gaza today more than 10% who were killed or injured, more than 200,000. This is not a gentle war.”
The figure is notable because it is very close to the number of casualties from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, which says Israeli forces have killed nearly 65,000 Palestinians and injured more than 164,000.
During the war, Israeli officials repeatedly challenged the health ministry figures, seeking to cast doubt on the reported death and injury tolls in the besieged enclave. They also accused the ministry of relying on data supplied by Hamas.
Halevi’s comments were made on Tuesday but not widely reported until the weekend by the Israeli media, many of which published an audio recording of the remarks. CNN obtained a copy of the audio and confirmed with an attendee that Halevi had spoken at the event. Halevi was the chief of staff during the first 17 months of the war.
An IDF spokesperson said, “We won’t comment on matters said in closed conversations.”
Halevi, who resigned in March over the IDF’s failures to prevent Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack, also said the military’s chief lawyer had never restricted his actions or orders. Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the IDF’s chief military advocate, has been the target of a right-wing campaign accusing her of preventing victory by restricting military operations.
“Not once did anyone restrict me,” Halevi said. “Not the military prosecutor – by the way, she has no authority to restrict me. There are legal advisers who say: we will know how to defend this legally in the world, and this is important for the State of Israel.”
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