A new question: Was the Oct 7 attack on Israel ‘a pre-emptive strike’?

This photo provided by the Israeli Government Press Office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, convened his security Cabinet.
Photo: Government Press Office via AP

In incendiary leaked comments, the former head of Israel's military intelligence disclosed plans to assassinate the leadership of Hamas and initiate war months before October 7, stresses Max Blumenthal at ‘The Gray Zone’.

In comments leaked by Israel’s Channel 12 this August 16, the Israeli army’s former head of military intelligence, Aharon Haliva, called for a “new Nakba” against the Palestinians and declared, “50,000 dead in Gaza is necessary and required for future generations.”

“For everything that happened on October 7, he proclaimed, “for every person on October 7, 50 Palestinians need to die. It does not matter now if they are children.”

Haliva’s remarks offer further proof of Israel’s genocidal intent in Gaza, and provide fresh evidence in future prosecutions of the country’s military and political leadership for crimes against humanity,

While social media users reeled in horror at his rhetoric, few noticed a revelation by Haliva which should cast the Al Aqsa Flood operation on October 7 in an entirely new light.

According to Haliva, “After the holidays [in the Fall of 2022], we were opening a joint reorganization with [Israel’s General Security Services] Shin Bet to collect intelligence on [Al-Qassam Chief of Staff Mohammed] Deif and [Hamas Secretary Genera Yahya] Sinwar in order to kill them, because every time we prepared a plan, they moved, and you have to re-collect on them.”

In other words, Israel was planning to violate its ceasefire with Hamas and launch a major decapitation strike against its leading figures, much like the one it deployed against Iran’s military leadership this June 13, when it assassinated 8 major IRGC officials without provocation. The killings would have touched off a major war, but unlike after October 7, Hamas would have been left without any negotiating leverage, as it would have had no Israeli captives in its possession when hostilities began.

When seen in this light, Al Aqsa Flood was a preemptive strike. Sinwar and Deif almost certainly understood that Israel was plotting their assassinations as the opening blow of a punishing assault aimed at snuffing out Palestinian resistance in Gaza once. Deif had already survived four assassination attempts, losing his family, an eye and use of several limbs in the process. As Haliva acknowledged, he and Sinwar were constantly on the move to evade their would-be killers.

And so, as the sun rose on October 7, 2023, Hamas took the initiative, denying a far more powerful adversary the devastating opening move it had methodically planned.

Injured Palestinians, including children are brought to al-Ahli Baptist Hospital for medical treatment aftermath of Israeli attack on Gaza City, Gaza on July 16, 2025.
Photo: Anadolu Agency

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has told the head of the Israeli military that anyone who remains in Gaza City after an IDF evacuation order can “die of hunger or surrender,” The Times of Israel reported on Saturday, citing a TV report from Israel’s Channel 12.

“We ordered you [to carry out] a quick operation. In my opinion, you can besiege them,” Smotrich reportedly told IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. “Whoever doesn’t evacuate, don’t let them. No water, no electricity, they can die of hunger or surrender. This is what we want and your capable [of doing it].”

Thousands of Palestinians have fled Gaza City amid ramped-up Israeli attacks in the area, but there’s been no sign of a mass evacuation despite Israel’s orders to leave. Palestinians in Gaza City have rejected the idea of another displacement since most of them have been forced to move many times, and they don’t believe the area they’re being told to flee to will be much safer since the IDF continues to bomb the south.

The Palestinians in Gaza City are also likely aware that Israel’s plans involve the complete destruction of the city, which means they almost certainly won’t be able to return. The IDF has told the Israeli government that it will likely take months or possibly over a year to demolish the city.

The Channel 12 report said that Zamir clashed with Smotrich and Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir over the length of time the plan to take over Gaza City will take. Smotrich’s call to starve the remaining Palestinians to death aligns with previous comments he has made.

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