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LONDON: Israel’s former military intelligence chief has claimed that the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza were necessary “as a message for future generations.”

Aharon Haliva can be heard in an audio broadcast by Israel’s Channel 12 saying that 50 Palestinians should die for every one Israeli killed in the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli media reported.

“It does not matter now if they are children,” he said. “There’s no choice, they need a Nakba every now and then to feel the consequences.”

Nakba refers to the “catastrophe” of 1948 when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee their homes and land during the foundation of the Israeli state.

Haliva, who resigned last year over intelligence failings surrounding the Oct. 7 attacks, can be heard justifying the devastating death toll in Gaza, which he put at 50,000.

The slaughter by Israel’s forces reached that figure in March, suggesting his comments are several months old, with the number of people killed now more than 62,000, Gaza health officials said on Monday.

Haliva’s comments are a rare acknowledgement from a senior Israeli figure of the true scale of the bloodshed in Gaza. Even if Israel’s claim earlier this year that it had killed 20,000 militants in the territory was accurate, that would still suggest Haliva accepts the vast majority of victims are civilians.

He is even considered a moderate within the Israeli political spectrum that is now dominated by hardline figures like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir in senior ministerial positions.

The extensive recordings sparked anger among Palestinians and Israeli human rights groups.

“The remarks by former head of military intelligence Aharon Haliva are part of a long line of official statements that expose a deliberate policy of genocide,” B’Tselem said on X.

In a statement to Channel 12, Haliva said the recordings came from a “forum setting.”

In the recording, he also discussed the intelligence failings leading up to Oct. 7, when Hamas and other militants attacked southern Israel killing 1,200 people and seizing 250 hostages.

He said no one could have imagined what happened on the morning of the attack after years of strategic assumptions that Hamas had been deterred from carrying out such an action.

The Shin Bet internal security service also should take the blame along with the military, Haliva said.

RAFAH/CAIRO: Egypt said on Monday it is ready to join a potential international force deployed to Gaza, provided it is backed by a UN Security Council resolution and accompanied by a “political horizon,” as ceasefire efforts continue in Cairo.

“We are standing ready of course to help, to contribute to any international force to be deployed in Gaza in some specific parameters,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said at a joint press conference with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa at the Rafah border crossing.

“First of all, to have a Security Council resolution, to have a clear-cut mandate, and of course to come within a political horizon. Without a political horizon, it will be nonsense to deploy any forces there.”

Abdelatty said a political framework would allow international troops to operate more effectively and support Palestinians “to realize their own independent Palestinian state in their homeland.”

Mustafa said a temporary committee would manage the territory after the war, with full authority remaining with the Palestinian government. “We’re not creating a new political entity in Gaza. Rather, we are reactivating the institutions in the State of Palestine and its government in Gaza,” he said.

Hamas has previously welcomed the idea of a temporary committee to “oversee relief efforts, reconstruction and governance,” though it remains unclear whether the group is willing to relinquish control of the territory.

Meanwhile, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met in Cairo with Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss the situation in Gaza and the broader Palestinian issue.

Both leaders emphasized the urgency of achieving a ceasefire in Gaza, ensuring the rapid and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid, and securing the release of hostages and captives, while rejecting any military reoccupation or displacement of Palestinians.

Sisi and Sheikh Mohammed reaffirmed that establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with international resolutions, is essential for lasting peace and stability.

They also stressed the need to begin reconstruction in Gaza immediately after a ceasefire and to prepare for an international reconstruction conference in coordination with the Palestinian government and the United Nations.

The two sides highlighted the importance of continuing joint diplomatic efforts to support Palestinian sovereignty, protect Palestinian civilians, and advance political solutions for a sustainable peace.