Growing divisions between Israel’s military commanders and the civilian government over the war in Gaza spilled into the open this week, raising questions about how Israel will conduct the next phase of the war.
The rift has quietly grown for months, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies appeared at times to blame Israeli security services for failing to prevent a surprise attack by Hamas on October 7. More recently, the military has been frustrated by the Netanyahu government’s struggle to maintain the exemption from service enjoyed by 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, Vice Admiral Daniel Hagari, reflecting fears among military leaders that the government’s failure to articulate a vision for a post-war Gaza could waste the achievements. against Hamas. “If we don’t bring something else to Gaza, at the end of the day, we will get Hamas,” he said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 13.
“Who is this other, what is this?” asked. “The political leadership will decide. But to get to a situation where we really weaken Hamas, that’s the way.”
Admiral Haggari also appeared to criticize Mr Netanyahu’s repeated call for “total victory” over the Palestinian armed group. “The idea that it’s possible to destroy Hamas, to make Hamas disappear – that’s putting sand in the eyes of the public,” he said.
That prompted a swift response from Mr Netanyahu’s office, which said the Israeli cabinet had set “the destruction of Hamas’ military and governmental capabilities” as one of the war’s aims and that the Israeli military was “naturally committed in this”.
Mr. Netanyahu, no stranger to political conflict, is fighting on multiple fronts, publicly feuding with members of his own party, leaders of other parties in his governing coalition and the Biden administration. But the public rupture with military leaders is particularly striking amid the push for wartime unity.
“There is a huge lack of trust. The army no longer believes in the political leadership, parts of which no longer believe in the army,” said Gadi Shamni, a retired Israeli general. “The military sees a lack of overall strategy, a growing rift with the United States and incitement against its commanders.”
Members of Mr. Netanyahu’s far-right cabinet have insisted on continuing the all-out war against Hamas, and the prime minister has given no public indication that he is ready to give up. When the army this week imposed a one-day ceasefire along a key road corridor to allow more aid to be distributed to southern Gaza, Mr Netanyahu initially said the change was made without his knowledge — though he made no move to cancel it, either.
Israel’s military said on Wednesday that it was easing some wartime restrictions on Israeli communities near Gaza and that it was very close to defeating Hamas forces in Rafah, both suggesting that Israeli commanders are seeing some easing in the fighting.
Since the Oct. 7 attack that Israel says killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages, ample evidence has emerged that Israeli officials were aware of Hamas’ plans for the operation but did not take them seriously. Mr Netanyahu also encouraged arrangements with Hamas that sought to “buy quiet” in Gaza through cash, Israeli work permits and infrastructure projects, a strategy that failed to stave off the Hamas offensive.
Herzi Halevi, Israel’s chief of military staff, said he accepted some responsibility for the failure. Mr. Netanyahu has not yet done so categorically. The prime minister and his allies have said accountability must wait until after the war, while at times blaming the Israeli security establishment.
And the Israeli military has advocated the enlistment of more ultra-Orthodox soldiers, citing the need for more conscripts to fuel 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 remains unchanged.
But the most important concern for the Israeli military, analysts said, is to ensure that hard-won tactical gains against Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, are not lost. For this, Admiral Hagari said, there had to be an alternative to Hamas in Gaza.
For now, Mr Netanyahu has tried to avoid making a decision on how to govern the enclave after the fighting ends. The United States and other allies have said the Palestinian Authority, which oversees parts of the occupied West Bank, should ultimately take charge in Gaza, while far-right coalition partners on whom Mr. Netanyahu’s political survival depends support permanent Israeli rule in Gaza.
As a result, Mr. Netanyahu has mostly said no. It has ruled out both a Palestinian Authority administration and new Israeli settlements in Gaza and has vowed to continue the offensive 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 appeared to be aimed at pressuring Mr. Netanyahu to take a stand. “You must decide, tell us what you want,” said General Shamni. “You don’t want the Palestinian Authority, okay. Tell us what you want. Military administration? They don’t even say that much.”
“The government as a whole has no attitude,” he added.
Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defense minister, said last month that Mr. Netanyahu’s failure to make a clear choice led Israel inevitably toward two unattractive outcomes: either an Israeli military regime in Gaza or Hamas eventually returning to power. .
“We will pay in blood and many casualties, for no purpose, as well as a heavy financial price,” Mr Gallant said in a televised speech.
Meanwhile, Palestinians in Gaza face growing anarchy. There is no police to enforce law and order, and public services such as garbage collection are almost non-existent. In southern Gaza, thousands of tons of humanitarian aid have been blocked on the Gaza side of the main Israeli border post because aid groups say it is too dangerous to distribute the goods.
Israeli military leaders are increasingly concerned that they may be asked to shoulder that burden, said Amir Avivi, a retired Israeli brigadier general who chairs a hawkish forum of former security officials. “This is the last thing they want,” said General Avivi, although he personally supports long-term Israeli control there.
Some believe the goals of the war have been achieved as much as possible and are eager to end the campaign in Gaza and turn their focus to the growing tension with Hezbollah, the Lebanese armed group, General Avivi said.
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.
These gaps appear to have widened even further in recent months.
Facing a deadline from Israel’s Supreme Court, Mr. Netanyahu’s coalition pushed through a bill to enshrine a long-term exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service. The practice has long resented much of the rest of the country’s Jewish population, which bears the brunt of conscription.
Now, after hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been called up for emergency reserve duty and hundreds have been killed in the fighting in Gaza, the measure has sparked renewed outrage. Earlier this month, General Halevi, Israel’s chief of staff, waded into the fray, saying there was a “clear need” to recruit more ultra-Orthodox soldiers.
“Each such battalion we establish, an ultra-Orthodox battalion, reduces the need to deploy several thousand reservists thanks to conscripts,” Gen. Halevi said in a statement. “And that’s now a clear need, and so we strongly encourage it and want to get it right.”
Jonathan Rice, Myra Noveck and Rawan Sheikh Ahmad contributed to the report.
