Former Israeli soldier held captive in Gaza asks Ben Gvir to let him execute Palestinian prisoners

A former Israeli soldier who was held captive in Gaza asked National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to allow him to personally execute Palestinian prisoners during an interview published on Saturday, with the far-right minister responding that he would try to make it happen.

Rom Braslavski, who was released from captivity in Gaza in October 2025, made the request while interviewing Ben Gvir in the first episode of his new podcast, October 8, according to footage from the programme and Israeli media reports.

“I have a personal request,” Braslavski told Ben Gvir, asking the minister to let him be “the one who hangs them”, referring to Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.

“I don't want a rope,” Braslavski said. “With my own hands I will execute every terrorist in the State of Israel.”

"I promise you I'll try and turn the world upside down to make this happen," Ben Gvir replied positively to Braslavski's request, adding that it was one of his dreams to see the released captives executing Palestinians.

Braslavski was on leave from the Israeli military and working as a security guard at the Nova music festival when Hamas and allied Palestinian armed groups attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023. Some 1,200 people were killed, many of them civilians, while 251 people were taken captive.

Ben Gvir added that Braslavski was "the right person in the right place [...] to hang and execute them one by one."

"They don't deserve to live," Ben Gvir told Braslavski, referring to Palestinian prisoners.

The exchange came as Ben Gvir, whose ministry oversees Israel’s Prison Service, has pushed for harsher conditions for Palestinian detainees, with inmates reporting torture and sexual assaults.

Earlier this month, an Israeli court blocked a plan by Ben Gvir to place crocodiles in moats encircling prisons where Palestinian prisoners are being held.

In May, the Israeli parliament approved a bill sponsored by Ben Gvir's party to establish public trials and impose the death penalty on Palestinian detainees accused of taking part in the 7 October attacks.

As of June, at least 104 Palestinian inmates have died in Israeli custody since 2023, with rights groups estimating that more than 9,000 Palestinians are held in Israel's detention facilities.

'They shouldn’t live. They’re not even people'

Ben Gvir said during the interview that Palestinian prisoners were suffering and that he was pleased by their conditions.

“They are suffering, it's hard for them, it's bad for them, and I'm glad it's bad for them,” he said.

The interview also turned to Gaza, where Ben Gvir called for an intensification of Israeli attacks, saying Israel should kill dozens of Palestinians every night and eventually expel them.

"I think we should carry out targeted assassinations in Gaza, taking down 30 to 40 every night," Ben Gvir said, adding "not just those who pose an immediate threat."

"There are people there who are not worthy of life. They shouldn’t live. They’re not even people," Ben Gvir continued.

Amid reports of US pressure on Israel to limit assassinations and attacks on the devastated Palestinian enclave, Ben Gvir said he firmly disagreed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the issue of limiting Israeli attacks.

Apart from calling to kill Palestinians, Ben Gvir reiterated his long-standing demand to expel the Palestinian population from the Gaza Strip.

"I see all of Gaza as ours," he said, adding that he wanted to see the establishment of "settlements not just in Gush Katif but throughout Gaza."

'Kill them one by one'

The comments come amid continued scrutiny of Ben Gvir’s influence within Netanyahu’s government and his policies towards Palestinians in Israeli prisons, Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

The Otzma Yehudit leader, whose party is currently polling around 8 to 10 Knesset seats, added that Israel should encourage "as much emigration as possible, sending them to their countries."

"For the terrorists," Ben Gvir made himself clear, "no emigration, nothing, just to kill them one by one."

In May, Middle East Eye reported that the International Criminal Court examined the issuance of an arrest warrant for Ben Gvir for committing crimes against the Palestinian people.

Ben Gvir, along with Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, has also been the target of an international sanctions campaign over his policies and statements advocating the extermination and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

Once a fringe politician, Ben Gvir has become one of the most influential figures in Israeli politics in recent years, with the far-right minister exerting growing influence over Netanyahu. His extreme opinions have also become more popular in recent years.

A poll published last week by the Jewish People Policy Institute, an Israeli think tank, found that 22 percent of Israel's Jewish citizens are in favour of expelling the Palestinian population from the occupied West Bank, with 38 percent of them supporting the annexation of the territory.

The poll also found that most Israelis, much like Ben Gvir, are sceptical about the implementation of US President Donald Trump's 15-point plan in Gaza.

Gaza's Ministry of Health reported last week that 1,258 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the fragile ceasefire was signed between Israel and Hamas in October 2025. As per the ministry, 4,295 others were wounded, including hundreds of women and children.

Palestinian officials in Gaza have documented thousands of Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement since it was signed.