A growing rift between Israel's military commanders and the civilian government over the war in Gaza came to light this week, raising questions about how Israel will handle the next phase of the war.
The rift has grown quietly for months, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies are sometimes seen blaming Israeli security services for failing to prevent a Hamas-led surprise attack on October 7. The Netanyahu government fights to maintain conscription exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews, at a time when Israeli forces are weak.
But the sharpest and most public break came on Wednesday, with unusually blunt comments from the armed forces' chief spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, reflecting fears among military leaders that the post-Gaza A government's failure to articulate a vision can result in lost gains. Against Hamas, he said in an interview with Israel's Channel 13 that if we don't bring anything else to Gaza, at the end of the day we will get Hamas.
“Who else is that, what is that thing?” he asked. The political leadership will decide. But to get to a situation where we really weaken Hamas, that's the way.
Admiral Hagari also appeared to criticize Mr Netanyahu's oft-repeated calls for “total victory” over the Palestinian armed group. “The idea that it's possible to destroy Hamas, to eliminate Hamas – it's throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” he said.
That prompted an immediate reaction from Mr Netanyahu's office, which said the Israeli cabinet had set “the destruction of Hamas's military and government capabilities” as one of the war's aims, and That the Israeli military is “certainly committed to it.”
Mr. Netanyahu, no stranger to political controversy, is on multiple fronts, feuding publicly with members of his own party, leaders of other parties in his governing coalition and the Biden administration. But popular disagreement with military leaders is particularly salient amid wartime pressures for unification.
“There is a huge lack of trust. The military no longer believes in the political leadership, parts of which no longer believe in the military,” said Gadi Shamni, a retired Israeli general. “The Israeli military sees a lack of overall strategy, a growing rift with the US and incitement against its commanders.”
Far-right members of Mr. Netanyahu's cabinet have insisted that the all-out war against Hamas will continue, and the prime minister has given no public indication that he is ready to give up. When the army this week initiated a daylight ceasefire along a key road corridor to allow further distribution of aid into southern Gaza, Mr. Netanyahu first indicated that the change was made without his knowledge. is – although they have not taken any steps to withdraw it. , either.
The Israeli military said on Wednesday that it was easing some wartime restrictions on Israeli communities near Gaza, and that it was close to defeating Hamas forces in Rafah, both suggestions that the Israelis Commanders are seeing some softening in combat.
Since the October 7 attack, which Israel says killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages, there has been considerable evidence that Israeli officials were aware of Hamas' plans for the operation but took them seriously. Not taken from Mr. Netanyahu also encouraged arrangements with Hamas that sought to “buy” Gaza through cash, Israeli work permits and infrastructure projects, a strategy that failed to stem the Hamas offensive. .
Israeli military chief Herzei Halvi has said he accepts some responsibility for the failure. Mr. Netanyahu has yet to unequivocally do so. The prime minister and his allies have said that blame should wait until after the war, while occasionally blaming the Israeli security establishment.
And the Israeli military has supported the draft of more ultra-Orthodox soldiers, citing the need for more recruits to bolster the war effort. But under pressure from his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, Mr Netanyahu has moved to ensure the community's long-standing exemption from military service is maintained.
But analysts say the most important concern for the Israeli military is to ensure that hardline tactical gains against Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, do not go to waste. Admiral Higari said that there was an alternative to Hamas in Gaza.
For now, Mr. Netanyahu has tried to avoid deciding how to govern the enclave after the fighting stops. The United States and other allies have said the Palestinian Authority, which oversees parts of the occupied West Bank, should eventually take charge in Gaza, while far-right allies on whom Mr. Netanyahu's political survival depends , supports permanent Israeli rule in Gaza.
As a result, amid competing pressures, Mr. Netanyahu said mostly no. It has rejected both the administration of the Palestinian Authority and new Israeli settlements in Gaza and vowed to continue attacks until Hamas is destroyed. He has said little about who will ultimately take responsibility for the enclave's 2.2 million residents.
General Shamni said Admiral Hagari's remarks were intended to pressure Netanyahu to take a position. “You have to decide, tell us what you want,” General Shamni said. “You don't want a Palestinian Authority, okay. Tell us what you want instead. A military administration? They're not even saying that.”
He further said that the government as a whole has no stand.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said last month that Mr Netanyahu's failure to make a clear choice was leading Israel to two unpleasant outcomes: either an Israeli military regime in Gaza or the eventual return to power of Hamas.
“We will pay blood and many victims, for no reason, as well as a heavy economic price,” Mr. Gallant said in a televised speech.
Meanwhile, the Palestinians in Gaza are facing increasing unrest. There are no police to enforce law and order, and public services such as garbage collection barely exist. In southern Gaza, thousands of tons of humanitarian aid are stuck on the Gaza side of the main Israeli border crossing because aid groups say it's too dangerous to distribute supplies.
Israeli military leaders are increasingly concerned that they may be asked to shoulder the burden, said Amir Avivi, a retired Israeli Brigadier General who heads an elite forum of former security officials. “This is the last thing they want,” said General Avivi, although he personally supports long-term Israeli control there.
Gen. Awiwi said some believed the war's objectives had been largely achieved and were eager to end the campaign in Gaza and focus on escalating tensions with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah. There are China.
Even before the war, Mr Netanyahu's government of ultra-Orthodox parties and religious nationalists did not always see eye to eye with the country's defense establishment. Thousands of Israeli military reservists announced last year that they would not volunteer for duty to protest Mr Netanyahu's plan to weaken the country's judiciary.
The gap seems to have widened in recent months.
Facing a deadline from Israel's Supreme Court, Mr. Netanyahu's coalition has introduced a bill to grant ultra-Orthodox Jews a longstanding exemption from military service. The practice has long sparked resentment among the rest of the country's Jewish population, who bear the brunt of the conscription.
Now, after thousands of Israelis have been called up for emergency reserve duty and hundreds have been killed in fighting in Gaza, the move has once again sparked outrage. Earlier this month, General Halvi, the Israeli military chief of staff, weighed in, saying there was a “clear need” to recruit more ultra-Orthodox soldiers.
“Every battalion we establish an ultra-Orthodox battalion reduces the need to deploy thousands of reservists,” General Halevi said in a statement. “And it's a clear need now, and so we strongly encourage it, and we want to do it the right way.”
Jonathan Rees, Myra Nowak And Rawan Sheikh Ahmed Cooperation reporting.