The former head of military intelligence for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) described the deaths of 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza as “necessary and required for future generations”, according to leaked audio. Aharon Haliva is heard in the recordings, aired by Israeli broadcaster Channel 12, saying that for every Israeli killed on 7 October, “50 Palestinians must die, even if they are children”.
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The comments were reported as Gaza’s health ministry announced that more than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed since the outbreak of the war in October 2023, when Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel that left around 1,200 people dead. In the clips, Mr Haliva said: “The fact that there are already 50,000 dead in Gaza is necessary and required for future generations … for everything that happened on October 7, for every person on October 7, 50 Palestinians must die. It doesn’t matter if they are children. I’m not speaking out of revenge, but out of a message to future generations.”
He also referred to the need for a “Nakba every now and then to feel the price”, invoking the Arabic term meaning “catastrophe”, used to describe the expulsion of 700,000 Palestinians from their homes during the creation of Israel in 1948. Mr Haliva, who resigned in April 2024 over his “leadership responsibility” for failures surrounding the Hamas attack, became the first senior IDF officer to step down in the aftermath. He also pointed to political leaders and Israel’s internal security service, Shin Bet, for underestimating the threat posed by Hamas.
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Responding to the Channel 12 report, Mr Haliva expressed regret, insisting the comments were taken out of context. “The leaked recordings were published from things said in a closed forum, and I can only regret that,” he said. “These are fragments of partial things which cannot reflect the full picture – particularly when it concerns complex and classified matters.” Acknowledging his responsibility, he added: “The October 7 disaster occurred on my watch as head of the Intelligence Division. I bear ultimate responsibility for what happened.”
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