An Israeli soldier shared a video on social media on Tuesday where he proclaimed that they have “killed tens of thousands of Amalekites” in Gaza.

In various biblical verses, God commands his followers to destroy the Amalekites, including women and children. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also referenced Amalek on 28 October 2023, which South Africa presented as a piece of evidence at the International Court of Justice on 11 January to prove that Israel has the intention to commit genocide in Gaza.

The soldier in the video was identified as Hiya Ben Hamu, who works in Israel’s tech industry and is a Rabbi in a Hasidic yeshiva in the city of Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut.

Ben Hamu has a YouTube channel where he uploaded various videos talking about religion in relation to the war in Gaza. He also appears to be friends on Facebook with #Israel’s Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, who sparked controversy in November last year by suggesting that dropping a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip was “an option”.