Israel’s Channel 12 reported that former head of the Israeli army’s Intelligence Directorate, Aharon Haliva, stated in closed recordings that it was necessary to kill 50,000 Palestinians in Gaza as a deterrent message to future generations.

Haliva said: “After October 7, I said we must kill 50 Palestinians for every Israeli killed. It doesn’t matter if they are children or women… It should be ingrained in their memory from time to time that a new Nakba occurred and this is its cost.”

He also admitted that arrogance played a role in the events of October 7, saying: “October 7 was one of the results of the arrogance and hubris that overtook us. We never imagined anyone would dare attack us or that we could be caught off guard without a single piece of prior intelligence.”