‘No one is working gently’: Israel’s former army chief confirms Gaza casualties surpass 200,000

CAIRO – 14 September 2025: Retired General Herzi Halevi, who served as Israel’s army chief from January 2023 and oversaw the first 17 months of the war in Gaza, has confirmed that more than 200,000 Palestinians have been killed or injured in the enclave during the military operations.

Halevi’s remarks effectively corroborate the figures released by Gaza’s health ministry, which has reported over 64,800 deaths and nearly 165,000 injuries since the start of the war — a toll that Israeli authorities have repeatedly dismissed as Hamas propaganda.

According to The Guardian, leaked Israeli military intelligence suggests that 80 percent of those killed in Gaza as of May were civilians.

“This isn’t a gentle war. We took the gloves off from the first minute, sadly not earlier,” Halevi said on Tuesday while speaking to residents of the Ein HaBesor agricultural cooperative, as reported by The Guardian, citing Israeli outlet Ynet.

‘Lawyers Justified, Didn’t Limit’

Halevi also stated that “not once” were military operations halted due to legal advice.

His remarks suggest that the role of legal advisers involved in the Israeli campaign was to defend the legality of the military’s actions before the international community, rather than restrict them.

Israeli officials have long claimed that military lawyers are actively involved in operational decision-making.

“There are legal advisers who say: ‘We will know how to defend this legally in the world,’ and this is very important for the state of Israel,” Halevi was quoted as saying.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and then-army chief Herzi Halevi at a security cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv, November 16, 2023 - Israeli govt

Prominent Israeli human rights lawyer Michael Sfard responded to the comments, stating they corroborate that those legal advisers merely serve as “rubber stamps.”

Expanding The War

Halevi’s remarks come as the Israeli military intensifies its assault on Gaza City, located in the northern part of the enclave and home to nearly half of Gaza’s 2.2 million residents.

The latest wave of strikes has killed scores of civilians, as the army targets high-rise buildings and pushes residents to evacuate to a so-called “humanitarian zone” in Al-Mawasi in the south.

Israeli forces are making life in Gaza impossible, demolishing homes, hospitals, and basic services, while also targeting civilians near aid distribution centers operated by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, 2,484 people have been killed and 18,117 wounded while attempting to access humanitarian aid.

In August, a UN-backed report officially declared famine in Gaza.

Since then, the ministry has recorded 420 deaths due to malnutrition and starvation, including 145 children, as Israel continues to impose severe restrictions on the entry of food and humanitarian supplies.