Tensions between Israeli army chief, government ‘reach their peak’: Report
As the Israeli army continues to suffer losses in Gaza, Netanyahu is said to be seeking to release the captives ‘through military victory,’ not a deal
Tensions “have reached their peak” between Israeli army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and the political echelon over the war in Gaza, according to an Israeli Army Radio report.
Zamir is demanding “strategic clarity” regarding the war, army radio’s military correspondent Doron Kadosh said.
Kadosh noted that “the cabinet hasn't met for a long time,” and that the “army has no clarity on how to proceed, and is not receiving clear orders and instructions.”
Zamir is “pushing for a deal, saying that flexibility is possible and that an effort must be made to reach it," he added.
“The army has made it clear that it will be prepared for any deal, regardless of the price,” even if it is a comprehensive deal that ends the war, Kadosh went on to say.
“The army's position is that it must continue to control the areas under its control along the Gaza Strip border in any future agreement. The army is capable of withstanding the consequences of flexibility, even if Israel is forced to compromise.”
Kadosh also revealed that during closed-door talks, Zamir has told the political echelon that any prolonged military presence in the Gaza Strip “endangers Israeli forces, plays into the hands of Hamas, and increases attrition within the army.”
The army will present two options to the government if a deal is not reached – the first is to occupy the entire Gaza Strip, and the second is to encircle and exhaust it, according to the army radio correspondent.
He added that the army opposes the first option.
“Occupying the entire Gaza Strip is militarily possible and would take a few months, but clearing the area above and below ground could take years,” Kadosh cites the Israeli army chief as saying.
The army prefers the second option. Otherwise, “Hamas will continually drain it through guerrilla operations.”
Resistance operations against Israeli forces by Hamas’s Qassam Brigades and other factions in Gaza have escalated recently.
Eighteen Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza in the month of July alone. The month before, 20 Israeli soldiers were killed in the strip.
Zamir was previously quoted as saying that the army is “exhausted” and is suffering from “deep fatigue.” Meanwhile, the Israeli government continues to push for the occupation and resettlement of Gaza.
According to a diplomatic source cited by several Hebrew media outlets, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to secure the release of captives “through decisive military victory,” further frustrating the families of the captives, who accuse the premier of endangering the lives of their relatives being held by Hamas.
“An understanding is forming that Hamas is not interested in a deal,” the source said. “Israel is in contact with the Americans,” the source added. US envoy Steve Witkoff recently said that Washington is no longer interested in partial deals.
Hamas has continued to demand a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and firm guarantees for a permanent ceasefire. Yet Netanyahu has repeatedly said that fighting will resume after captives are exchanged if the Palestinian resistance movement refuses Tel Aviv’s disarmament terms.
“We reiterate that resistance and its weapons are a national and legal right as long as the occupation persists,” Hamas said on Saturday, in response to Witkoff claiming the resistance movement was ready to surrender its arms.