Israel’s military chief warned against a full takeover of Gaza, according to three Israeli sources familiar with the discussions, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considers ordering the “conquest’ of the besieged territory.
In a meeting with top officials on Tuesday evening, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir cautioned that fully conquering Gaza would trap the military within the enclave and put the remaining hostages at risk, the sources said.
Such a move, Zamir said, would also increase the burden on Israeli forces when the military is already suffering from attrition and burnout rates amongst reservist forces.
According to two of the sources, Zamir’s plan called for encircling Gaza City and other neighborhoods in which hostages might be held, while Netanyahu was pushing for a more intrusive operation into the heart of the areas.
Netanyahu will urge a meeting of the security cabinet Thursday to support the full “conquest of the Strip”, CNN has previously reported, in what would mark a major escalation of the Israeli campaign at a time when the government is under international pressure for a truce.
