Middle East Eye, on Gaza, 2 November 2026

3.0out of 10Minor

‘Our bombs killed hostages’ in Gaza, says former Israeli army chief

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Israel ’s former military chief has acknowledged that Israeli air strikes killed captives held by Palestinian groups in Gaza. Speaking at a conference organised by the Shurat Hadin group in New York on Sunday, Herzi Halevi claimed military “pressure” on Gaza helped secure the release of captives. But he admitted that Israeli forces had also killed some of them. “Our bombs killed hostages. We did not know they were there,” he said. A total of 251 people were taken captive during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.

Most were later returned alive through prisoner exchanges with Hamas. Approximately 87 died in captivity in Gaza or were taken there after having already died. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters

Israeli newspaper Maariv reported in October 2025, citing Israeli officials, that many captives had been killed by Israeli strikes, particularly during the early stages of the war. What is the Hannibal Directive and why is it controversial? Read More » On 7 October, the Israeli military invoked the Hannibal Directive , a controversial order designed to prevent the capture of Israeli soldiers, even at the risk of killing them. According to Israeli media reports, the military applied the directive along the Gaza-Israel boundary during the first hours of the Hamas-led assault.

Halevi, who resigned as military chief last year, also admitted on Sunday that the 7 October attack “was a failure that could have been prevented”. However, he rejected suggestions that the assault resulted from internal betrayal. “Helping Hamas would require not just one person collaborating, but a very broad network. After three years, not even one such person has been found,” he said. Copyright © 2014 - 2026 . Middle East Eye. All rights reserved.

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What we found (1)

Middle East Eye reports Herzi Halevi's admission that Israeli bombs killed captives in Gaza and names the actor plainly from the headline down. It also names the Hannibal Directive and cites Israeli reporting that strikes killed many captives. One sentence overstates Israel's past silence: it says Israeli authorities declined to address the accusations, when Israeli occupation forces had already admitted killing six captives.

  1. Overstates the army's past silence

    Minor

    “Israeli authorities have previously declined to address accusations that military strikes killed captives, instead accusing Hamas of killing them.”

    Why this matters
    Middle East Eye says in its own voice that Israeli authorities declined to address the accusations and blamed Hamas instead.
    The impression it gives
    A reader believes Halevi's remark is the first time the Israeli military has accepted that its own fire killed captives in Gaza.
    The context
    Israeli occupation forces had already admitted killing six captives held in Gaza outright or with high probability, including three shot in Shuja'iyya and three killed by a byproduct of an air strike. Halevi's remark extends a record the army had partly conceded, rather than breaking a total silence.

    How we know

    Show it in the article

What it gets right

  • “Israeli air strikes killed captives held by Palestinian groups in Gaza”

    The article names who did the killing in plain words, with an active verb and no softening.

  • “the Israeli military invoked the Hannibal Directive”

    It names the order and states that the army invoked it on 7 October. Other outlets have avoided naming it for years.

  • “many captives had been killed by Israeli strikes, particularly during the early stages of the war”

    It sets Halevi's admission against earlier Israeli reporting, so the reader knows the remark confirms a wider pattern.

How other outlets reported it

Our analysisIsraeli occupation forces ordered that no vehicle return to Gaza. Their own investigations name Israelis they killed. The BBC never named the order.

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