‘Our bombs killed hostages,’ says former Israeli army chief Halevi - Middle East Eye

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.  

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

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.

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.