Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Defence Staff Eyal Zamir reportedly disagreed on the direction of the ongoing war in Gaza in a cabinet meeting on Sunday, local media reports said. According to various Israeli media reports, Netanyahu and Zamir disagreed on the ceasefire deal and the proposal to take over Gaza. During the security cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv, Lt. Gen. Zamir urged discussion of the ceasefire deal, which Hamas has already accepted and warned that the plan to conquer Gaza City would drag Israel into a full-fledged occupation of the Strip. No vote on partial hostage deal Netanyahu, however, refused to allow the vote following a request from National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and other ministers. “There is no need to vote; this is not on the table,” Netanyahu reportedly said. The proposal includes the release of 10 living hostages and the return of 18 bodies over a 60-day period during which there will be a cease-fire in Gaza, and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners would be released from Israeli jails, and negotiations would continue over the release of the remaining hostages. However, Netanyahu opposed discussion on the deal, saying Israel currently has “a limited diplomatic clock” with the Americans. A withdrawal from territory captured by the IDF during Operation Gideon’s Chariots, he warned, would carry “a heavy price.” Gaza takeover will lead to occupation During the meeting, Lt. Gen. Zamir warned that the plan to conquer Gaza City will drag Israel into a full-fledged occupation of the Strip, the Ynet news site reports. “You are heading to a military government,” said Zamir. “Your plan is leading us there. Understand the implications.” “Your decision to conquer Gaza City — and afterwards this will lead to the conquest of the refugee camps in central Gaza — and then it will be a military government, because there will be no other body that could take responsibility for the population,” he added. According to a Ynetnews report, the discussion was shot down by Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, saying that the decision has already been made. It was at this point, Ben Gvir called for a vote on a partial hostage deal, but Netanyahu refused, saying that there was no deal on the table. IDF operation created condition for hostage return Earlier, Lt. Gen. Zamir reportedly told ministers that the IDF offensive, which ended with the military in control of some 75% of the Gaza Strip, had created the conditions for the hostages’ return. According to him, the IDF is capable of returning to combat if the deal goes through and no resolution to the war is agreed to after the 60-day ceasefire ends. Netanyahu vs Zamir This is not the first time Lt. Gen. Zamir has made his opposition to the Gaza takeover plan public. He has argued that the Gaza City takeover plan lacked a coherent exit strategy and would instead pull Israel deeper into the Strip. Last month, it was also reported that Lt. Gen. Zamir told current and former top IDF figures that Netanyahu’s family and associates are seeking to oust him over his opposition to the government’s decision to expand the war in Gaza.
