Divisions between Israeli military commanders and the civilian government over the Gaza war have surfaced this week, raising questions about how Israel will proceed with the next phase of the war.
The rift has been quietly widening for months, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies making occasional comments blaming Israeli security forces for failing to thwart the Hamas-led surprise attack on Oct. 7. More recently, the military has grown frustrated with Netanyahu’s government’s struggle to maintain military exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews at a time when the Israeli army is stretched thin.
But the sharpest and most public shift came on Wednesday, in unusually candid comments from military spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari, reflecting concern among military leaders that gains against Hamas may be wasted because the government has failed to articulate a vision for post-war Gaza. “If we don’t bring something different to Gaza, Hamas will end up doing it to us,” he said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 13.
“Who is that someone? What is it?” he asked. “The political leaders will decide, but that is the way to get to a situation where we really weaken Hamas.”
Hagari also appeared to criticize Netanyahu’s repeated calls for “absolute victory” over Palestinian militant groups. “The idea that it’s possible to destroy and eliminate Hamas is like throwing sand in the eyes of our people,” he said.
Netanyahu’s office quickly responded, saying the Israeli cabinet had set “the destruction of Hamas’ military and governing capabilities” as one of the war’s objectives and that the Israeli army was “naturally committed to this goal.”
No stranger to political conflict, Netanyahu finds himself at odds on many fronts, openly at odds with members of his own party, leaders of other parties in his coalition government and the Biden administration, but his public rift with military leaders has been particularly stark amid pressure for wartime unity.
“There is a huge lack of trust. The military no longer believes in the political leaders, and some of them no longer believe in the military,” said retired Israeli General Gadi Shamni. “The Israeli military is witnessing a lack of a comprehensive strategy, a widening rift with the United States and incitement against its military commanders.”
Far-right members of Netanyahu’s cabinet have insisted on continuing the all-out war against Hamas, and the prime minister has not publicly indicated he plans to back down on the fight. When the army decided this week to impose a daytime halt to fighting along a main road to allow for more aid distribution to southern Gaza, Netanyahu initially suggested the change had been made without his knowledge, and has shown no signs of backing down.
The Israeli army on Wednesday eased some wartime restrictions on Israeli communities near Gaza and said it had nearly defeated Hamas forces in Rafah, both indications that Israeli commanders are seeing an easing of fighting.
Since the Oct. 7 attacks, which Israel says left some 1,200 people dead and about 250 taken hostage, ample evidence has emerged that Israeli authorities were aware of Hamas’ operational plans but did not take them seriously. Netanyahu also encouraged a deal with Hamas aimed at “buying tranquility” in the Gaza Strip through cash, Israeli work permits and infrastructure development works, but this strategy has failed to deter Hamas’ attacks.
Israeli army chief of staff Herzi Halevi has said he accepts some responsibility for the failure, but Netanyahu has not explicitly done so. He and his allies have said they must wait until the war is over to determine who is to blame, at times blaming Israeli security services.
The Israeli military has supported conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews, arguing that more are needed for the war effort, but under pressure from its ultra-Orthodox Jewish coalition partners, Netanyahu moved to maintain a long-standing Jewish exemption from military service.
But analysts say the Israeli military’s biggest concern is to ensure that hard-won tactical gains against Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007, are not wasted. To do that, Admiral Hagari said, it needs an alternative to Hamas in Gaza.
For now, Netanyahu has tried to avoid deciding how to govern Gaza after the fighting ends. The United States and other allies say the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank, should ultimately take control of the strip, but his far-right coalition partners, on whose behalf his political survival depends, support permanent Israeli rule of the territory.
As a result, facing conflicting pressures, Netanyahu has mainly said “no.” He has ruled out both a Palestinian Authority and new Israeli settlements in Gaza, and vowed to keep attacking Hamas until it is destroyed, while saying little about who will ultimately be responsible for the territory’s 2.2 million residents.
General Shamni said Admiral Hagari’s comments appeared to be aimed at pressuring Prime Minister Netanyahu to take a stand. “You have to decide. Tell us what you want,” General Shamni said. “We don’t want a Palestinian Authority, OK? Tell us what you want instead. A military junta? They haven’t even said that.”
“The government as a whole has not taken a position,” he added.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said last month that Netanyahu’s inability to make a clear choice was pushing Israel inexorably toward two unwanted outcomes: an Israeli military government in the Gaza Strip or Hamas ultimately assuming power.
“We will pay a lot of blood and sacrifices for no purpose, and we will pay a heavy economic price,” Gallant said in a televised address.
Meanwhile, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip face growing anarchy. There is no police to enforce law and order, and public services such as garbage collection are nearly nonexistent. In the southern Gaza Strip, thousands of tons of humanitarian aid are stranded on the Gaza side of Israel’s main border crossing because aid groups say it’s too dangerous to distribute them.
Israeli military leaders are increasingly worried that they could be forced to shoulder that burden, said Amir Avibi, a former Israeli brigadier general who chairs the hardline forum of former security officials. “That’s the last thing they want,” Avibi said, though he privately supports Israel’s long-term control of the territory.
Gen. Abibi said some believe the war’s objectives have been achieved as far as they can and want to end the operation in Gaza and shift focus to escalating tensions with Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Even before the war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, made up of ultra-Orthodox parties and religious nationalists, was not always on the same page as the country’s defense establishment. Thousands of Israeli reservists announced last year that they would not volunteer for service in protest at Netanyahu’s plans to undermine the judiciary.
These disparities appear to have widened in recent months.
As the Israeli Supreme Court deadline looms, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government is pushing ahead with legislation that would enshrine a long-standing exemption from military service for ultra-Orthodox Jews, a practice that has long been resented by many of the country’s Jews who bear the burden of conscription.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have now been called up into emergency reserve, a move that has drawn fresh outrage after hundreds were killed in fighting in Gaza. Earlier this month, the Israeli army’s chief of staff, General Halevi, joined the fray, saying there was a “clear need” to recruit more ultra-Orthodox Jewish soldiers.
“The ultra-Orthodox battalions we are establishing will reduce the need to deploy thousands of reservists through conscription,” General Halevi said in a statement. “And this is now a clear need, and we strongly encourage it and want to get it right.”
Jonathan Rice, Myra Noveck and Rawan Sheikh Ahmad Contributed report.
