from Mondoweiss
The Israeli war cabinet met on Monday to decide on the next phase of Israel’s war on Gaza. The meeting was reportedly to choose between ending the war in favor of ceasefire talks or expanding it to reoccupy the entire Strip. According to initial unconfirmed reports, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has briefed “friendly journalists” that he has ordered the Israeli army to “conquer Gaza” in the face of opposition from the army’s Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir. Netanyahu’s office reportedly told N12: “The decision has been made — Israel is going to conquer the Gaza Strip.”
The ceasefire was supported by Israeli army officials, while the decision to reoccupy Gaza is favored by the hardline ministers like National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who are key allies in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s rightwing coalition and are credited with playing an influential role in sustaining the ongoing Israeli onslaught.
According to the Israeli army’s radio on Monday, Zamir had demanded “clarity” from the Israeli government regarding the future of the war effort, reportedly discouraging the reoccupation of Gaza, believing it would “drain” the Israeli army.
Zamir’s message to the cabinet came amid Israel’s announcement last week of the end of its latest military offensive in Gaza, dubbed Operation Gideon’s Chariots, while one of Israel’s cabinet members, Zeev Elkin, threatened to “annex parts of Gaza” as a “pressure tool” against Hamas in ceasefire negotiations.
The message was also issued following the visit of U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to Israel and Gaza last week. On Friday, Witkoff met families of Israeli captives in Tel Aviv, where he reaffirmed U.S. efforts to reach a ceasefire deal, without giving any details on the progress of the talks. Witkoff said that Hamas was considering giving up its weapons, while the resistance group responded in a statement saying that it would only lay down its arms after the establishment of an independent Palestinian state...
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