Former Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi said Israeli air strikes killed some hostages in Gaza because forces did not know they were present, Middle East Eye reported on Nov. 2, 2026.
Speaking Sunday at a New York conference organized by Shurat Hadin, Halevi also argued that military pressure on Gaza had helped secure captives’ release. His acknowledgment that Israeli bombs killed hostages came alongside that defense of the military campaign.
Hamas-led attackers took 251 people captive during the Oct. 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel. According to Middle East Eye, most were subsequently returned alive through prisoner exchanges with Hamas. Approximately 87 either died in captivity or had already died before being taken to Gaza.
The outlet also cited an October 2025 report by the Israeli newspaper Maariv, which attributed to Israeli officials the claim that Israeli strikes had killed many captives, especially early in the war.
Halevi, who resigned as military chief in 2025, separately said the Oct. 7 attack could have been prevented. He rejected internal betrayal as an explanation, arguing that helping Hamas would have required an extensive network and that no collaborator had been identified in the three years since the assault.