Israeli government's rift with military widens at stormy cabinet meeting

Army leadership is said to oppose Netanyahu government's push to conquer all of Gaza city

Israel's plan for a new offensive in Gaza has raised fears of a yet greater humanitarian disaster. AFP

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s determination to launch a full-scale conquest of Gaza city is deepening a rift with Israel’s military leadership, which is said to favour a partial deal with Hamas over a costly new offensive.

The dispute came to head at a dramatic security cabinet meeting on Sunday, at which one minister reportedly insulted the army's chief of staff, while Mr Netanyahu claimed that US President Donald Trump wants a decisive military operation to defeat Hamas in Gaza and that a partial deal is “not on the table”.

Swirling reports of chaos at the highest levels of Israel’s security apparatus add to fears that the Gaza war might be about to enter a particularly bloody chapter, threatening the lives of thousands of Palestinians and remaining living hostages abducted from Israel during the October 7 attack in 2023.

The UN says hundreds of thousands of civilians live in areas facing invasion. Contradictory Israeli orders, a lack of space in areas the army has instructed people to move to, a worsening famine and fears of permanent displacement among residents have led aid agencies to believe that many will stay put.

Palestinians at Gaza's Al Shifa Hospital, where casualties of Israeli strikes were being taken on Monday. AFP

Details of the stormy six-hour cabinet meeting emerged on Monday in Israeli media. Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock quoted a Torah verse, according to the public broadcaster Kan, which says that “the fearful and faint-hearted man shall return to his house, lest he make the hearts of his brothers melt like his heart”. Chief of staff Eyal Zamir hit back, seeing it as a veiled criticism of his preference for a partial hostage deal.

During the same meeting, Mr Netanyahu reportedly said that such a deal “is not on the table” and that Mr Trump backs his stance and wants Israel to fight Hamas “with full force”. The meeting was held a few days after Mr Trump held talks on plans for postwar Gaza, while two senior Israeli ministers travelled to Washington. Mr Trump has signalled on several occasions that he wants the conflict to end swiftly.

Relatives of Israeli hostages held a rally at the weekend calling for their immediate release instead of a new offensive in Gaza. AP

As details emerged of Sunday’s tense cabinet meeting, news broke that Israel’s military has assessed Operation Gideon’s Chariots – the previous operation launched against Hamas in May after the collapse of a ceasefire deal – to have failed.

The Israeli outlet Channel 12 published part of a classified document circulated among military leadership that said Israel “made every possible mistake” in the operation, and that it failed to achieve its objectives to defeat Hamas and rescue hostages. Israel’s military said it was investigating how the document was leaked, and said it had met the targets of the operation.

The document raises further questions about the prospects of Israel’s looming conquest of Gaza city, which has been named Gideon’s Chariots 2 and has the even more difficult objective of capturing the city in its entirety.

Israel has ramped up pressure on Palestinians to leave Gaza city, calling for an "evacuation" and claiming conditions will be better in the south. The Israeli military said on Friday it will no longer observe a daily "tactical pause" to allow aid into the city.