That is exactly what former Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi confessed this week, confirming what human rights groups, legal scholars, and the Palestinian Health Ministry have long documented.

Halevi, who led Israel's assault on Gaza for 17 months before resigning in March, spoke to residents in southern Israel: "This isn't a gentle war. We took the gloves off from the first minute. Sadly not earlier." His words were not a slip; they were a proud declaration of a campaign so brutal that even Israel's own military lawyers never once restricted his actions.

"Not once has anyone restricted me. Not once," he repeated, dismissing the idea that legal or moral boundaries applied. Instead, he framed military lawyers as little more than PR cover: "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." In other words, the law isn't a constraint; it's a narrative to be manipulated.

A death toll too massive to ignore

The scale of the carnage is almost unfathomable. Gaza's Health Ministry reports 64,803 Palestinians killed and 164,264 wounded since October 7, 2023, but thousands more remain buried under rubble, uncounted. Independent analyses, including leaked Israeli intelligence data, suggest more than 80% of the dead are civilians, including women and children. To put it in perspective: If a foreign military killed 10% of America's population, that would mean 33 million Americans dead or maimed.

Yet Israel's apologists still dismiss these numbers as "Hamas propaganda", a claim debunked by the United Nations and humanitarian agencies worldwide. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is investigating Israel for genocide, while the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes. Even the world's largest association of genocide scholars recently passed a resolution, endorsed by 86% of its members, stating that Israel's actions "meet the legal definition of genocide" under the 1948 UN convention.

Starvation as a weapon, hospitals as targets

The brutality extends far beyond bombs. Last month, famine was officially declared in Gaza after Israel enforced a total blockade, cutting off food, water, and medical supplies. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 361 Palestinians have already died from malnutrition, including 124 children. Hospitals, which are supposedly protected under the Geneva Conventions, have been systematically bombed, with Israeli forces even dressing as medics to infiltrate and attack patients.