Netanyahu and his office have repeatedly stated that the main goal of the war is to destroy Hamas, but they have avoided talking about how the Gaza Strip will be governed afterward — something the military insists must be achieved.
Israel Defense Forces spokesman, Admiral Daniel Hagari, He said In an interview on Wednesday evening with Channel 13: “Hamas cannot be destroyed. Hamas is an idea. Those who think it can be made to disappear are wrong.
In what was considered a rare message directed from the army to the Israeli political leadership, Hagari continued: “What we can do is promote something new to replace Hamas. Who would that be? What will happen? This is up to the political leadership to decide.”
His comments were quickly dismissed by the Prime Minister’s Office, as Netanyahu took his familiar political stance, repeating that only “total victory” and the elimination of Hamas would end the war in Gaza.
His office said that Netanyahu set one of the goals of the war as destroying Hamas’ military and governmental capabilities. chirp As a response. “The Israeli army, of course, is committed to this.”
The Israeli army appeared to stand by Hagari’s comments, noting that they were made “clearly and frankly.” He stressed that the Israeli army remains “committed to achieving the goals of the war, as set by the War Council, and has been working to do so tirelessly throughout the war and will continue to do so.”
Defense Minister Yoav Galant issued statements expressing the deep concerns of the broader defense establishment, which fears that the government’s lack of a political strategy in Gaza will allow Hamas to regroup. Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, members of the war government from a centrist political coalition, resigned after urging Netanyahu to adopt a post-war plan for Gaza.
A poll published by the Pew Research Center on Thursday found that Israelis are more confident in their military than in their government. The poll of 1,001 Israelis, conducted from March 3 to April 4 — before Netanyahu dissolved the war cabinet — found that 61% of Jewish Israelis trust their government “to do what is right for Israel.”
The vast majority — 93% — of Israeli Jews said the army has a “very good” or “fairly good” influence on internal affairs. It comes even as the military is under scrutiny for what was seen as a lackluster and sluggish response to the October 7 Hamas attack, and allegations in the international community that the IDF is committing war crimes in Gaza.
Israelis were also more supportive of Gallant than Netanyahu, according to the poll. 74% of Israeli Jews had a positive opinion of Gallant, while 51% had a positive opinion of Netanyahu. Support for both leaders was small among Palestinian citizens of Israel: 9% had a positive view of the Defense Minister and 7% had a positive view of the Prime Minister.
Washington also advised senior Israeli politicians to “link its military operations.” [in Gaza] “It is a political strategy,” US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said during a visit to Israel last month. So far, Netanyahu has lashed out at critics of his strategy and refused to give in to pressure to formulate a plan for the next day.
The United States and some members of the Israeli military establishment envisioned a postwar role for a reformed Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank. However, Netanyahu’s government has repeatedly rejected any role, and the Foreign Ministry under Netanyahu ally, Yisrael Katz, recently began a social media campaign to discredit the idea.
Street protests are also on the rise in Israel, with demonstrators returning again on Thursday Highway closures in Tel Aviv And near the town of Caesarea, where Netanyahu lives. The families of the hostages, along with others, carried placards and banners as they blocked traffic and called for elections and the release of the hostages. Einav Zanjoker, the mother of one of the hostages, attacked Netanyahu.
Addressing Netanyahu, she told the Israeli media: “You chose your political survival at the expense of the people and the hostages.” “Guilt will follow you to the grave. You cannot escape it.”
The controversy over the future of the Israeli operation in Gaza comes at a time when relief agencies are talking about the deterioration of the humanitarian situation after the Israeli army’s incursion into the southern city of Rafah, which began last May and led to a significant disruption of humanitarian activities.
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs He said In this week’s update, “hundreds of thousands of displaced people in southern Gaza” continue to struggle with access to shelter, health, food, water and sanitation. She added that nearly 60% of agricultural land in Gaza was damaged, while the food supply chain in Gaza was severely disrupted.
Under increasingly desperate conditions, looting is worsening and hampering aid delivery efforts and humanitarian operations, according to Georgios Petropoulos, head of the OCHA sub-office in Gaza.
He told the newspaper that without “any kind of civil order and rule of law in southern Gaza,” cigarette smuggling exploded along the Egyptian border.
The Cypriot president stressed that his country “in no way participates in hostilities” in the Middle East. Nikos Christodoulides chirp Thursday, instead, the island nation is “part of the solution,” citing humanitarian aid and support for Gaza. His response follows comments made this week by Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese armed group and political party Hezbollah, who warned Cyprus against getting involved in the conflict and hinted that the small country was ready to help the Israeli military. Nasrallah did not provide any evidence for his claims.
Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have turned the lives of Syrian refugees upside down Living and working near the border. In southern Lebanon, the fighting has displaced more than 95,000 people, according to the International Organization for Migration, and damaged homes and agricultural land where many Syrians work as day laborers.
The United Nations Environment Program issued a a report This week details the environmental impact of the conflict in Gaza. It found that sanitation, wastewater and solid waste management systems and facilities had collapsed. She added that the destruction of buildings, roads and other infrastructure has generated more than 39 million tons of debris, “some of which is contaminated with unexploded ordnance, asbestos and other hazardous materials.” “Human remains are buried in this huge amount of building debris.”
At least 37,431 people have been killed and 85,653 others injured in Gaza since the start of the waraccording to the Ministry of Health in Gaza Thursday. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but says that the majority of those killed were women and children. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attack on October 7, including more than 300 soldiers, and says. 310 soldiers They were killed since the start of its military operations in Gaza.
Lior Soroka and Miriam Berger contributed to this report.
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