Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved the military conquest of the Gaza Strip, Hebrew media reported on Monday. Several coalition ministers said the Israeli leader used the phrase “occupation,” according to Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan News.
Netanyahu told the government on Monday evening that he would convene the Security Cabinet later in the week “to direct the [Israel Defense Forces regarding] how to achieve the three war objectives we have set,” according to Kan.
These objectives, stated early in the war, include defeating Hamas, rescuing the hostages and ensuring the Gaza Strip never again threatens Israel.
According to Yaakov Bardugo, a political commentator for Israel’s Channel 14, the statement was “significant, as Israel has reached the point where the decision has been taken.” He estimated it would take a few days to a week, “maybe a little longer,” to put the plan into action.
The prime minister had reiterated his intention to achieve the government’s three main war goals in a statement on Sunday evening following the public release of Hamas footage of two hostages, Evyatar David and Ram Braslavski. The two, on the brink of starvation, appeared in video released by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on Friday.
“When I see this, I understand exactly what Hamas wants. It doesn’t want a deal. It wants to break us through these horror videos, through the false horror propaganda it spreads around the world,” Netanyahu said. “But we will not break. I am filled with an even stronger determination to free our kidnapped sons, to eliminate Hamas, to ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to the State of Israel.”
Netanyahu’s decision is said to be opposed by IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and much of the IDF’s top echelon, who argue it will endanger the remaining 20 living hostages (Hamas holds the bodies of 30 others).
A security meeting will be held on Tuesday among Netanyahu, Zamir, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and the head of the IDF’s Operations Directorate, Maj. Gen. Itzik Cohen. Its goal is to come to agreement on a plan that Netanyahu will then present at the Security Cabinet meeting he announced on Monday.
Zamir and Cohen are expected to present a plan for encircling the camps in Gaza City where Hamas still operates and reducing the terrorist forces through attrition, including airstrikes and commando operations, Israel Hayom reported.
Of the disagreement between the Zamir and Netanyahu, the Prime Minister’s Office said, “We are going for a full occupation. If it doesn’t suit the chief of staff, he should resign,” according to Amichai Stein, diplomatic correspondent for i24 News.
IDF Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan Conricus, a former IDF spokesman and now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, expressed deep skepticism regarding the prime minister’s plan.
“Had the PM really desired to defeat Hamas he would have tasked the IDF to do so long ago,” he told JNS. “Currently, the Israeli government has failed to create the necessary conditions on the ground for the IDF to conquer the Gaza Strip, and it seems more likely that the PM is seeking a scapegoat in the shape of the IDF and the chief of staff than actually intending to launch a hugely divisive effort to finally defeat Hamas,” he continued.
“Also missing from the strategic context are the PM’s plans for the Gaza Strip in the mid and long term, which the IDF has been asking to understand for the last two years. In lieu of a clearly defined strategy, the IDF is hesitant to launch an offensive that will most likely result in the death of the remaining Israeli hostages,” he added.
Netanyahu has remained opaque about plans for the ‘day after’ in the Gaza Strip. Various plans have been put forward. Among the most controversial has been U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion in February to relocate the Gazan population and rebuild the Gaza Strip with the United States taking ownership of the area.
IDF Brig. Gen. (ret.) Amir Avivi, founder and chairman of the Israel Defense and Security Forum (IDSF), representing 1,000s of reserve officers, supports the prime minister’s plan.
He said that Israel tried to make a deal with Hamas for the remaining hostages and it didn’t pan out. Now is the time to move to the next stage, which is to conquer the 25% of the Gaza Strip that the IDF has not entered until now.
“What we are left with is to go in, destroy Hamas, surround the areas where the hostages are, and negotiate with the kidnappers directly, not via Qatar,” Avivi told JNS.
If necessary, Israel will attempt to rescue the hostages. “It’s dangerous, but it’s also dangerous to let them rot in the tunnels,” he said.
Avivi dismissed widespread reports of a conflict between the prime minister and chief of staff, saying it doesn’t reflect reality.
“I’m in close contact with the chief of staff. I think it’s a campaign by those wanting to intentionally undermine the relations between them,” Avivi said. “The chief of staff is very resolute about winning the war. He presented the different options and the army will do whatever the Cabinet will instruct it to do.”
