IDF Chief Of Staff Says No Revenge In Gaza, But Palestinian Death Toll Reaches 29,195

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (second from the left). (Source: IDF)

JAKARTA - Israeli Chief of Staff Defense Forces (IDF) Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi in a message to his troops said they were only using violence if necessary, not revenge or committing genocide in operations in the Gaza Strip region.

In its official letter to the army, Lt. Gen. Halevi said the army "did not carry out massive killings", acting out of revenge or committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, as the war with Hamas entered its fifth month.

"We have struggled for four months and our journey is still long," Lieutenant General Halevi wrote, as reported by The Times of Israel on February 20.

He further said the fighting was a long and fair war. Every step is very important, every local achievement is part of achieving the goal of war. He called on his troops to fight with determination and professionalism.

"We act like humans and, unlike our enemies, protect our humanity. We must be careful not to use violence if it is not necessary, differentiate between terrorists and those who are not, do not take anything that does not belong to us, souvenirs or weapons, and do not record revenge videos," explained Lt. Gen. Halevi.

"We did not commit massive killings, revenge, or genocide. We came to win and defeat the cruel enemy, who deserved a bitter defeat," he said.

The IDF has always said they comply with international law, do not target civilians, accusing the Hamas group of using humans as human shields in Gaza.

However, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Tuesday that the death toll of Palestinians in the region had reached 29,195 and 69,170 others were injured.

At the Munich Security Conference last weekend, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh lashed out at Israel, saying they had "not achieved anything" other than the deaths and destruction in Gaza since the war began in October, quoted by The National News.