In their own words.
A cabinet minister ordered a whole population cut off from food, water, and power, and called them “human animals.” Others declared themselves proud of the ruins, called for the strip to be erased, and argued that epidemics would bring victory closer. These are not paraphrases. They are the record.
This is a vetted ledger of what Israeli officials and public figures said about Gaza after October 2023, each quote pulled to its primary source and graded. It is deliberately disciplined: a widely shared graphic mixes real quotes with paraphrases and at least one fabrication, and we correct those here rather than repeat them. We do not call this genocide in our own voice — we let the words stand, and we report where a court and human-rights investigators have placed them.
Gallant announces a 'complete siege' of Gaza — no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel — and says Israel is 'fighting human animals'
Israeli Minister of Defense (Yoav Gallant) · Public order / statement · October 9, 2023
A sitting defense minister publicly ordered the cutoff of the basic necessities of life to Gaza's entire population and framed the enemy in dehumanizing terms. Human Rights Watch later concluded the siege used starvation as a weapon of war.
View source →What this page is about
In the weeks after October 7, 2023, Israeli officials made a series of public statements about Gaza and its people that were striking in their plainness: a complete siege framed as fighting “human animals,” pride in the ruins, calls to erase the strip, and an argument that epidemics would hasten victory. This page collects those statements, quotes each one verbatim from a primary or mainstream source, and grades it.
Many of these exact statements were entered into evidence by South Africa in its genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. On January 26, 2024, the Court found it “plausible” that Palestinians' rights under the Genocide Convention were at risk and ordered provisional measures. We report that finding as what it is — a legal ruling, at a preliminary standard, made by the Court — and let readers weigh the words themselves.
The record, statement by statement
Yoav Gallant, Defense Minister: the 'complete siege' and 'human animals.'
FACTOn October 9, 2023, Gallant announced a total siege of Gaza and described the enemy in dehumanizing terms. The statement is documented across mainstream outlets and was cited in South Africa's ICJ application. Cutting off electricity, food, water, and fuel to an entire civilian population is the anchor fact of this page; Human Rights Watch concluded in December 2023 that the siege amounted to using starvation as a weapon of war.
“I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel — everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly.”
Bezalel Smotrich, Finance Minister: 'there is no such thing as a Palestinian people.'
FACTSpeaking in Paris on March 19, 2023 — before the war — Smotrich denied the existence of a Palestinian people, calling it 'an invention' less than a century old, to applause. It belongs on this ledger as the peoplehood-denial baseline that predates and frames the wartime statements, and is a different category from the conduct-of-war quotes: it is about erasing a people on paper, not a wartime order.
“There is no such thing as a Palestinian people. It is an invention that is less than 100 years old.”
May Golan, Minister: 'I am personally proud of the ruins of Gaza.'
FACTIn a Knesset speech in February 2024, captured on video, the minister expressed pride in Gaza's destruction. We quote her in full because the full sentence is the point.
“I am personally proud of the ruins of Gaza, and that every baby, even 80 years from now, will tell their grandchildren what the Jews did.”
Nissim Vaturi, Deputy Knesset Speaker (Likud): 'erase Gaza.'
FACTIn October 2023 the Likud lawmaker publicly called to erase Gaza and to leave no child there; he separately called to 'burn Gaza,' a statement a Knesset ethics panel later reviewed. We publish his verbatim words rather than the composite caption that circulates.
“Erase Gaza. Nothing else will satisfy us. … Don't leave a single child there — expel everyone.”
Giora Eiland, retired Major-General: 'severe epidemics … will bring victory closer.'
FACTIn a November 19, 2023 op-ed in Yedioth Ahronoth, the former head of Israel's National Security Council argued that Israel should not be deterred by warnings of humanitarian disaster and disease in Gaza — that epidemics there would hasten victory. He is a commentator and former official, not a serving minister; we flag that, and quote him directly.
“The international community warns us of a humanitarian disaster in Gaza and of severe epidemics. We must not shy away from this … severe epidemics in the south of Gaza will bring victory closer.”
Daniella Weiss, settler-movement leader: 'Arabs will not stay.'
PROBABLY TRUEIn an April 2024 BBC interview, the veteran leader of the Nachala settlement movement said Arabs would not remain in Gaza and that the world would absorb them. She holds no government office; her significance is as the organized settler movement's public face for re-settling Gaza. We grade the substance PROBABLY TRUE and quote her on camera.
“Arabs will not stay … the world will absorb the people of Gaza. We encourage it.”
Isaac Herzog, President: 'it's an entire nation out there that is responsible.'
FACTAt an October 12, 2023 press conference, Herzog rejected the distinction between Hamas and Gaza's civilians. This is the verbatim quote — not the paraphrase 'there are no innocent civilians' that circulates in the graphic. South Africa cited it at the ICJ; Herzog says his words were 'twisted' and that he was describing a failure to rise up against Hamas, not declaring civilians fair targets. We carry his rebuttal alongside his words.
“It's an entire nation out there that is responsible. It's not true, this rhetoric about civilians not being aware, not involved.”
Avi Dichter, Agriculture Minister: 'we're rolling out the Gaza Nakba.'
FACTIn November 2023, the security-cabinet member and former Shin Bet chief described the mass displacement of Palestinians from northern Gaza as a new Nakba. This is his documented statement. It is NOT the fabricated line — 'we will leave no living Palestinian' — that the viral graphic puts in his mouth; that wording is unsupported and we do not use it.
“We are now rolling out the Gaza Nakba. Gaza Nakba 2023. That's how it'll end.”
The 'Amalek' theme: Netanyahu's invocation, and soldiers filmed chanting it.
FACTOn October 28, 2023, Netanyahu invoked the biblical Amalek — a people the Hebrew Bible commands be destroyed entirely — in remarks about the war; South Africa cited this at the ICJ. Separately, Israeli soldiers were filmed chanting about wiping out 'the seed of Amalek'; the IDF acknowledged the video's authenticity and said the conduct did not comply with its values. We use these on-record instances rather than the unverifiable single-soldier screenshots that circulate on the theme.
The discipline is the point
- We grade the verbatim, not the meme. The widely shared graphic that collects these quotes is a mix: some lines are exact, several are paraphrases, and at least one is fabricated. Herzog is captioned “there are no innocent civilians” — he did not say those words, and we quote what he did say and carry his objection. Avi Dichter is captioned “we will leave no living Palestinian” — that is unsupported, and we replace it with his documented “Gaza Nakba 2023.”
- No anonymous screenshots. The viral Facebook post from a self-identified soldier boasting of killing “Amalek” babies has no verifiable provenance, and single-soldier screenshots are a known vector for fabrication. We don't use it. For the same theme we use material that is on the record: Netanyahu's own Amalek remark, and a soldier video the IDF itself confirmed and condemned.
- We don't supply the verdict. We do not write “this is genocide” in our own voice. We report that these statements were cited in a genocide case, that the ICJ found the claim plausible at a preliminary stage, and that HRW found the siege used starvation as a weapon. The reader draws the conclusion; we make sure the quotes and the attributions are exact.
Intent, stated out loud
In the law of genocide, the hardest thing to prove is intent — and here officials stated it in public, on camera, and in the Knesset. That is why South Africa built much of its ICJ application around these very quotes, and why the Court's January 26, 2024 order found the genocide claim plausible enough to order provisional measures — a preliminary finding, not a final judgment. It is also why this page is a living ledger: the eight figures here are a sample of many, and the West Bank and Lebanon have their own records still to be vetted and added.
Questions worth taking seriously
Do these quotes prove Israel committed genocide?
We don't say that in our own voice. Statements of intent are one element of the legal test, which is why South Africa built its ICJ case partly on them and why the Court found the claim plausible at a preliminary stage. Whether genocide is ultimately proven is for the Court, on the full record. What we assert is narrower and verifiable: these people said these things.
Do these statements reflect what ordinary Israelis believe?
That's a real and important question, but it's not one a quote grid can answer — you can't prove population-level belief from the words of officials. It would need reputable opinion polling on wartime attitudes, and we'd welcome sourced survey data. We name it as an open question rather than assert it, and we note that many Israelis have also protested the war and their government.
Why don't you use the viral IDF soldier screenshots?
Because we can't verify them. An anonymous social-media screenshot can be edited or faked in seconds, and single-soldier posts are a documented fabrication vector. When the same sentiment is available on the record — a soldier video the IDF itself acknowledged, a minister's Knesset speech, a filmed press conference — we use that instead. The standard protects the reader and the reporting.
If you are named on this page
If you are named on this page, or are a party materially affected by the claims made here, and you wish to respond, correct the record, or add context, use the Contact page. Responses are published verbatim alongside the original claim, with the sender identified and the date of receipt. The channel stays open for the life of the page.
This site aggregates and grades a record that other outlets and primary sources have already put on the record. Every FACT-graded claim above is sourced to court filings, government reports, sworn whistleblower disclosures, published investigative journalism, or named-source statements. The citations are the accountability mechanism; this section is how you get on the record too.
The record
- The Times of Israel — Gallant announces a ‘complete siege’ of Gaza
- Human Rights Watch — Starvation Used as a Weapon of War in Gaza
- CNN — Smotrich: ‘no such thing as a Palestinian people’
- Haaretz — Herzog on the ICJ’s portrayal of his remarks
- Haaretz — Dichter: ‘We’re rolling out Nakba 2023’
- Middle East Eye — Giora Eiland on ‘severe epidemics’ in Gaza
- The New Arab — May Golan ‘proud’ of Gaza’s destruction
- The Dispatch — fact-check of the ‘seed of Amalek’ soldier video
- International Court of Justice — Order of 26 January 2024 (South Africa v. Israel)