Despite pressure, Israel's military chief rejects Netanyahu's plans for Gaza occupation

Amid the tensions in West Asia, Israel’s military chief is pushing back against the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over plans to expand military operations in Gaza. Three Israeli officials close to the matter told Reuters that the country’s military leadership does not agree with Netanyahu’s idea of seizing areas of Gaza that Israel doesn’t already control.

As per the report, the disagreement was more apparent during a three-hour meeting between the Israeli premier and the country’s military on Tuesday. During the talks, Eyal Zamir, the military chief of staff, warned the prime minister that taking the rest of Gaza could trap the country’s military in the territory.

Zamir pointed out that recouping the territories which the Israeli military withdrew from could harm the hostages who are still being held in Gaza. Sources close to the matter told Reuters that Netanyahu was pushing for expansion into territories Israel’s military withdrew from two decades ago.

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75% of Gaza is already under Israeli control

During the meeting, the Israeli military noted that it already controls 75 per cent of Gaza after nearly two years of war, which began after Hamas’ surprise attack on Southern Israel on October 7, 2023. In light of this, the Israeli officials opposed imposing military rule, annexing the territory, and rebuilding Jewish settlements there — policies advocated by some government members.

The disagreement is coming at a time when Netanyahu is under immense international and domestic pressure to reach a ceasefire with Hamas and ensure the release of all hostages. Multiple aid groups also emphasised that starvation has struck Gaza amid the war.

At the meeting, Netanyahu told Zamir that so far, the Israeli military had failed to bring about the release of hostages in the region. An official who asked to remain anonymous told Reuters that most of those freed so far came about as a result of diplomatic negotiation and not the Israeli military freeing them in Gaza.

Amid the chaos, on Wednesday, Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, wrote on X that the military chief has both the right and the duty to voice his opinion, but said that the military would carry out the government’s decisions until all war objectives are achieved.

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Meanwhile, the prime minister’s office confirmed that the meeting with Zamir took place on Tuesday but declined to comment further. Meanwhile, Netanyahu is now expected to discuss this plan with the war cabinet, which is mostly comprised of far-right leaders.