'I Wished the Sea Would Swallow the Gaza Strip'... Ben-Gurion's Statements Revealed After 70 Years
New documents reveal Ben-Gurion's warnings about the consequences of controlling Gaza and the importance of the home front.
Translated by Qiyas from الراي — Original source
Former Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister David Ben-Gurion said on the eve of the 1956 Tripartite Aggression, speaking about the Gaza Strip, “If I believed in miracles, I would have wished for the sea to swallow it.”
This quote appeared in documents revealed by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Archives on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the war, alongside a warning issued by Ben-Gurion regarding a future war, in which he stated, “Tel Aviv will be bombed, Haifa will be bombed, and people will be killed—not fighters, but women and children.”
The remarks concerning Gaza were made during a government session on October 28, 1956, on the eve of the launch of the “Tripartite Aggression.” Months later, on April 4, 1957, Ben-Gurion repeated these statements during a meeting with senior army officers, following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula.
In another declassified document, Ben-Gurion warned army commanders against relying on the success of the “Tripartite Aggression” when preparing for a future war.
He noted that the military had succeeded in reducing human casualties during the Sinai campaign, but it could not be assumed that this would happen again in the future.
Ben-Gurion emphasized that any new war could cause severe damage to the civilian home front, urging military leaders not to draw conclusions about the upcoming war based on the experience of the Sinai campaign.
Ben-Gurion addressed the difficulties associated with maintaining Israeli control over the Gaza Strip.
He said, “We know that the Gaza Strip is a problem under any system of governance, regardless of what that system is, whether it is Israeli rule, Israeli rule in cooperation with the United Nations, or UN rule without Israel.”
He clarified that the worst-case scenario was the return of Egyptian rule to the strip, but he believed that continued Israeli control might also exact a heavy price.
He continued, “But it was clear that our staying in Gaza, after being shunned by the world, and with terrorism present there that we would be forced to suppress, was incompatible with Israel’s capabilities and vital needs. This terrorism would destroy us.”
He added, “Therefore, from the very first moment, I strongly opposed those who called for the annexation of Gaza. This is not what Israel needs—adding 300,000 Arabs, Arab citizens, of this type.”
He later warned that prolonged control over the strip could harm Israel not only militarily.
He added, “And perhaps this would lead to destruction, not on the military level, but on the moral level... If we lose, in the eyes of our people and in the eyes of the world, our moral right to exist, then Israel will have no existence.”
Among the declassified documents was also a handwritten text by Shimon Peres, who at the time served as Director-General of the Ministry of Defense.
Peres wrote, “He also made clear to us that wars will not solve the Arab-Israeli relationship problem, because our victory in one battle does not necessarily mean it is the last battle, whereas an Arab victory could be the final victory.”
The declassified materials include documents related to Operation “Honyo,” in which an Israeli group managed to evacuate 65 Jews from the Egyptian city of Port Said in November 1956.
Documents were also revealed concerning the activities of the Israeli Air Force during the war, including a plan to attack Egyptian airports that was not executed, testimonies about Israeli forces being accidentally bombed, and documentation of the attack on the Egyptian destroyer “Ibrahim el Awal.”
These documents are published on a website created by the IDF Archives at the Ministry of Defense.
The site includes more than 4,500 photographs, documents, and maps, much of which had not previously been disclosed to the public, along with information on 149 military commanders who began their careers during the 1948 war and were part of the founding generation of the Israeli military’s leadership.
