Former Israeli general says Gaza death toll 'necessary', Palestinians 'need a Nakba'

A former Israeli army general has said that the high death toll for Palestinians in Gaza was "necessary" as a consequence for Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.

In leaked recordings broadcast by Israel's Channel 12, former major general Aharon Haliva said that "50 Palestinians should die" for every victim of the Hamas attack on Israel, according to Haaretz, which carried the comments.

He further said that "there's no choice, they [Palestinians] need a Nakba every now and then to feel the consequences," and that "I'm not saying this out of revenge, but as a message for future generations".

Haliva had fought during the early months of Israel's war on Gaza as the military's intelligence chief. He later resigned from his post over his failure to prevent the Hamas attack.

Since the start of the war, Israeli officials have made a number of comments that observers say indicate genocidal intent, including Israeli President Isaac Herzog's remark that the entire population of Gaza was responsible for the 7 October attacks.

Former defence minister Yoav Gallant also said in the early days of the war that Israel was fighting "human animals", in a speech in which he announced a "complete siege" on Gaza.

The comments have been used as evidence by South Africa in its case brought to the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of committing genocide in the enclave.

Since the outbreak of the war, Israel has killed 61,827 Palestinians, including 251 who have starved to death because of the country's blockade of aid, with a further 155,275 others wounded.

The death toll, and Israel's destruction of most of the enclave, including attacks on essential services such as the medical and education sectors, as well as roads, water and sewage services, have led to accusations from rights groups of collective punishment, which is a war crime.

The ICC has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Gallant on war crimes charges.

Haliva also sought to downplay the failures of the military intelligence that precipitated Hamas' 7 October attacks, which he said were based on strategic assumptions of Hamas' behaviour, while placing responsibility on Israel's Shin Bet security services for the failures.

The Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 saw the killing of 1,200 people and the taking of 251 captives, 50 of whom are still in Gaza.