Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing fierce pushback, including from the head of his own military, over a proposal to widen his devastating offensive and seize the remaining parts of Gaza.
Eyal Zamir, the Israeli military chief of staff, is understood to have warned the prime minister that attempting to take and hold the rest of Gaza – which the army physically withdrew from two decades ago – could corner their forces into a protracted conflict and endanger the lives of the hostages.
The warning came during a tense three-hour meeting held on Tuesday night in which they were set to decide on a strategy before a cabinet meeting on Thursday, an Israeli source briefed on the discussion told The Independent.
It is the latest voice of discontent from inside Israel, as the beleaguered premier has faced mounting pressure to wrap up the 22-month conflict, which has reportedly seen the highest death toll of Israeli soldiers in 50 years. There has also been global condemnation over a famine crisis and the rising Palestinian civilian death toll, which has pushed past 61,000 dead, according to local officials.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Zamir reportedly spoke of the decision to conquer the entire territory creating a “trap in Gaza”. Israeli Channel 12 quoted Zamir as saying that the extended boots-on-the-ground occupation would “significantly endanger the lives of the hostages and cause erosion in the army”.
This week, nearly 600 Israeli retired security officials wrote an open letter to Donald Trump urging him to intervene and pressure Israel to end the war. Just hours before Tuesday’s tense meeting, several former chiefs of Israel’s internal security services, the Mossad spy agency, the military and ex-prime minister Ehud Barak released an extraordinary joint video on social media, echoing those pleas. They said extreme-right members of the government are holding Israel “hostage”.
Netanyahu’s objectives in Gaza are “a fantasy”, Yoram Cohen, former head of Shin Bet, said in the video. “If anyone imagines that we can reach every terrorist and every pit and every weapon, and in parallel bring our hostages home – I think it is impossible,” he said.
Ami Ayalon, another former head of Shin Bet, added: “This is leading the state of Israel to the loss of its security and its identity.”
But Netanyahu is facing increasing pressure from the far-right members of his government, including national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, who have railed against any truce deal or delivery of aid to Gaza as “surrender”.
According to reports in The Times of Israel and Haaretz, Smotrich and Ben Gvir have called for the destruction of Gaza City as part of the takeover plan.
The prime minister’s critics within Israel accuse him of pandering to them, fearing the collapse of his razor-thin coalition, as he faces ongoing corruption trials, which have cast a long shadow over his terms in office.
Israel’s security establishment also fears that an open-ended occupation would bog down and further strain the army – while risking the lives of dozens of troops.
“Israeli soldiers and reservists and everybody are just hugely tired,” one source told The Independent. Continuing the conflict will mean “more soldiers dead, all exhausted, more taxes on Israeli”, they said, adding: “More and more soldiers are dying every day – full occupation with your soldiers not on top form is an issue.”
Netanyahu is also facing condemnation from the families of hostages in Gaza held by military groups Hamas and others, who accuse the prime minister of “leading Israel and the hostages towards devastation”.
“I expect the prime minister to speak to the public, to explain the implications of this idea to the country and the price we'll pay,” said Itzik Horn, the father of Israeli hostage Eitan and former hostage Iair, according to Haaretz. “We are the people. I want the prime minister to explain why he wants to kill my son.”
“The hostages have no more time,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum added on Wednesday. “Either we save them now, or we will lose them forever. There are moments in history when we must stand up and do the right thing.”
There are believed to be 50 remaining hostages and captives still being held in Gaza, but only 20 are thought to still be alive.
Amos Harel, a senior fellow at Brookings and an Israeli defence expert, told the Independent that risking the “mass death of hostages was a big gamble” for the prime minister, who would also have to call in more reservists to complete the plan.
“It would mean a break, from a massive amount of Israeli voters, including right-wing voters who would like to see the hostages home and have their own growing fears that this would fail as well and would mean more lives lost without actually reaching some sort of victory,” he said.
Meanwhile, Trump said on Tuesday that the decision over whether to fully occupy Gaza is “pretty much up to Israel”, declining to support or oppose the potential expansion of Israeli military activity in the enclave. “I know that we are there now trying to get people fed,” he said when asked about the plan.
The move may also increase Israel’s growing isolation on the international stage, at a time when its allies are taking tougher stances towards the country amid reports of starvation in the Gaza Strip and near-daily reports of Palestinians being shot dead while seeking aid.
On Wednesday, Jordan said Israeli settlers attacked a Gaza-bound aid convoy in the second such incident in days, accusing Israel of failing to act firmly to prevent repeated assaults.
The convoy, carrying 30 trucks of humanitarian aid, was delayed in its arrival in a violation of signed agreements, said Jordan’s government spokesperson, Mohammad al-Momani.
“This requires a serious Israeli intervention and no leniency in dealing with those who obstruct these convoys,” he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, reports from Hamas’ information ministry in Gaza said that 20 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded after a truck carrying humanitarian aid in the strip flipped over.
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