Former Israeli Chief of Staff reveals terrifying figures about war victims in the Gaza Strip
Former Israeli Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi, admitted that the Israeli army has killed or injured more than 200,000 Palestinians since the start of the war on Gaza, representing more than 10% of the Strip’s population.
During his meeting with residents of Ein Habsor in southern Israel, Halevi said, “the army decided matters from the first minute,” however, he acknowledged that Israel should have acted more decisively before Hamas’ attack in October 2023.
The Israeli Ynet website posted a recording of Herzi Halevi’s statements, which are noteworthy because they closely match the current figures issued by the Ministry of Health in Gaza, which Israeli officials have consistently dismissed as Hamas propaganda, even though international humanitarian aid agencies have deemed the ministry’s figures reliable.
The official death toll in Gaza has risen to 64,718 and 163,859 wounded since the war began on October 7, 2023, with thousands of victims feared to be still buried under the rubble.
“This isn’t a quiet war… We decided things from the first minute, but unfortunately we didn’t do it in advance,” Halevi said, suggesting that Israel should have taken a more assertive stance before the October 7 attack.
Reports indicate that Israeli airstrikes in just 24 hours have resulted in the deaths of 65 Palestinians, most of them in Gaza.
In his remarks, Halevi also addressed the role of military lawyers, emphasizing that they never restricted his decisions, and that legal advice didn’t impact field operations, but rather served only to provide cover for the army’s defense in international forums.
Herzi Halevi stepped down as Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces in March 2025, after leading the military during the first 17 months of the war in Gaza, which is now approaching its second anniversary.
