Tensions between Israel’s military and political leadership have sharply escalated over the past week, with the military chief directly confronting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a recent meeting over plans to expand the Gaza war, two Israeli officials told CNN.
Tens of thousands of Israeli reservists have begun reporting for duty to prepare for the massive operation, despite the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir repeatedly voicing reservations about the decision to take over Gaza City after almost two years of fighting.
According to two Israeli officials who were briefed on the exchange, in two recent security cabinet meetings about the Gaza City operation, Zamir challenged the decision to carry out the offensive, focusing on the potential risks to the 48 Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza, and to soldiers on the battleground. He also raised objections to the displacement of up to one million Palestinians in the process and its potential humanitarian and strategic ramifications.
In the most recent stormy security cabinet meeting on Sunday evening, Zamir once again urged the ministers to consider the latest ceasefire proposal put forward by Egyptian and Qatari mediators that has been accepted by Hamas, the officials told CNN.
“There is a framework on the table, and we should take it,” he said, according to the Israeli officials briefed on the meeting.
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