Yoav Gallant’s “Human Animals” Statement Referred to Hamas

 On October 9, 2023, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced what he described as a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip following Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel. In the same statement, Gallant said: “We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.” The immediate context reported by _The Times of Israel_ explicitly identified the conflict as Israel’s fight against Hamas.  The Times of Israel

 Contemporary reporting and subsequent statements by Israeli officials placed Gallant’s “human animals” characterization in reference to Hamas and its fighters rather than Palestinians or Gaza’s civilian population. _The Times of Israel_, reporting Gallant’s October 9 remarks, introduced them specifically in the context of Israel fighting “the Hamas terror group.” The same outlet subsequently reported Gallant repeatedly identifying Hamas as the organization Israel intended to eliminate.  The Times of Israel+2

 This contextualization is also reflected in Gallant’s later statements. On October 10, speaking to Israeli troops, Gallant said that Hamas had sought to change the situation in Gaza and stated that “whoever” had carried out the killings and attacks would be eliminated. The following days, he explicitly described the military objective as eliminating Hamas and its operatives.  The Times of Israel+1

 A separate contemporary report concerning Gallant’s visit to Kibbutz Be’eri recorded him telling soldiers that they had fought against “human animals” and identifying the enemy as the “Islamic State of Gaza.” In this setting, the remarks followed the October 7 attacks by Hamas militants and were directed toward the forces responsible for those attacks.

 Other Israeli officials likewise used animal-related language specifically in reference to Hamas or its fighters. Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, described Hamas militants as acting “like animals” while discussing the October 7 attack and said that they would pay a price. Similarly, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Hamas as part of an “axis of evil” and framed the conflict as a struggle between “the children of light and the children of darkness.” These statements placed the terminology within the political and military conflict with Hamas rather than identifying Palestinians generally as the object of the characterization.

 The distinction between Hamas and Gaza’s civilian population also appears in contemporaneous American political commentary. In an October 2023 interview, Senator Marco Rubio discussed Hamas as the organization responsible for the October 7 attacks, arguing that Hamas could not be allowed to remain a functioning organization and separately discussing its use of civilians and civilian areas. The relevant subject of Rubio’s remarks was Hamas and its fighters.

 Later reporting also examined how translations and abbreviated quotations from Gallant's October statements affected their presentation. _TheWrap_, summarizing reporting by _The Atlantic_'s Yair Rosenberg, argued that some English-language accounts omitted the word “Hamas” from translated statements and thereby made remarks about Hamas appear to refer more broadly to Gaza. The article specifically discussed Gallant's statement that Gaza would not return to its previous condition and that “there will be no Hamas,” emphasizing the distinction between Gaza as a territory and Hamas as the military organization being targeted.  TheWrap

 Gallant’s subsequent public statements continued to identify Hamas as the military objective. On October 12, for example, _The Times of Israel_ reported that Gallant briefed NATO defense ministers about atrocities committed by Hamas and described Hamas as an organization that would no longer exist following Israel’s military campaign.  The Times of Israel

 The distinction is also reflected in later commentary. Writing in January 2024, _The Jerusalem Post_ described Gallant’s statement at the beginning of the war as referring to “our enemies” and discussed his characterization in the context of Hamas.  Jerusalem Post   In July 2025, military scholar John Spencer likewise described Gallant’s “human animals” remark as a reference to Hamas fighters.  Israel & Jewish News - JNS

 Taken together, the cited contemporary reporting and subsequent commentary document that Gallant's “human animals” language was used in the context of the October 7 attack and Israel's military confrontation with Hamas, with the cited sources identifying Hamas and its fighters as the referent.

 References

 Fabian, E. (2023, October 9). _Defense minister announces ‘complete siege’ of Gaza: No power, food or fuel_. The Times of Israel.  The Times of Israel. [https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog\_entry/defense-minister-announces-complete-siege-of-gaza-no-power-food-or-fuel/]

 Fabian, E. (2023, October 9). _Gallant says Israel’s future hinges on outcome of war_. The Times of Israel.  The Times of Israel. [https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog\_entry/gallant-says-israels-future-hinges-on-outcome-of-war/]

 Fabian, E. (2023, October 10). _Gallant: Israel moving to full offense, Gaza will never return to what it was_. The Times of Israel.  The Times of Israel. [https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog\_entry/gallant-israel-moving-to-full-offense-gaza-will-never-return-to-what-it-was/]

 Fabian, E. (2023, October 15). _Gallant vows to find and kill every last Hamas terrorist_. The Times of Israel.  The Times of Israel. [https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog\_entry/gallant-vows-to-find-and-kill-every-last-hamas-terrorist/]

 Fabian, E. (2023, October 12). _Showing explicit video of Hamas crimes, Gallant tells NATO: ‘2023 is not 1943’_. The Times of Israel.  The Times of Israel. [https://www.timesofisrael.com/showing-explicit-video-of-hamas-crimes-gallant-tells-nato-2023-is-not-1943/]

 Kaloi, S. (2024, January 21). _New York Times, NPR left out that Israeli official was talking about Hamas, not Gaza_. TheWrap.  TheWrap. [https://www.thewrap.com/new-york-times-npr-israel-hamas-not-gaza-yoav-gallant/]

 Beck, M. (2024, January 26). _Israel-Hamas War: Netanyahu's culture of lying, Gallant's rage—opinion_. The Jerusalem Post.  Jerusalem Post. [https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-783490]

 Spencer, J. (2025, July 24). _I’m a war scholar. There is no genocide in Gaza_. JNS.  Israel & Jewish News - JNS. [https://www.jns.org/opinion/john-spencer/im-a-war-scholar-there-is-no-genocide-in-gaza]

 Litman, D. (2023, October 30). _When bad journalists find “good” Jews: CNN runs PR for far-left Jewish groups_. CAMERA.  CAMERA. [https://www.camera.org/article/when-bad-journalists-find-good-jews-cnn-runs-pr-for-far-left-jewish-groups/]

 Office of the President of Israel. (2023, October 16). _Speech by the President of Israel at the opening of the Knesset session_.  president.gov.il

[https://www.president.gov.il/en/%D7%93%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%99-%D7%94%D7%A0%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%90-%D7%91%D7%A4%D7%AA%D7%99%D7%97%D7%AA-%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%91-%D7%94%D7%9B%D7%A0%D7%A1%D7%AA-2/]