Israel army directed to execute govt orders on Gaza
Signs of a rift over strategy emerged as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to announce a new phase in the war.
Israeli troops deploy at the border with the Gaza Strip on 1 July 2025, as the war between the Palestinian Hamas militant and Israel continues. Picture: Jack GUEZ/AFP
JERUSALEM - The Israeli military will have to execute any government decisions on Gaza, the defence minister said Wednesday after reported disagreements over the prospect of a full occupation of the Palestinian territory.
Signs of a rift over strategy emerged as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to announce a new phase in the war, after he said Israel must "complete" the defeat of Hamas in order to secure the release of hostages still held in Gaza.
The Israeli press, citing officials speaking on condition of anonymity, has predicted an escalation of operations, including in densely populated areas where hostages are believed to be held, such as Gaza City and refugee camps.
The reports also said Netanyahu and his cabinet would order a full military occupation of Gaza, sparking dissension from the army's Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu held a restricted three-hour meeting with security chiefs to discuss options for the continuation of the war, his office said in a statement.
At the meeting, Zamir reportedly warned that a full occupation would be like "walking into a trap," according to public broadcaster KAN.
The army chief suggested alternatives to a full occupation, such as an encirclement of specific areas where Hamas is believed to be hunkering down, according to the Channel 12 broadcaster.
But Defence Minister Israel Katz hit back with a clear message.
"It is the right and duty of the Chief of Staff to express his position in the appropriate forums," he wrote on X.
"But once decisions are made by the political echelon, the IDF will execute them with determination and professionalism... until the objectives of the war are achieved," he added, using an acronym for the Israeli military.
TRUMP SAYS 'UP TO ISRAEL'
Netanyahu is expected to convene the security cabinet on Thursday to finalise a decision on the expansion of the offensive, local media reported.
US President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday he was not aware of reported plans to occupy the entire Gaza Strip, but said that such a decision would be "up to Israel".
At war with Hamas since the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israel on October 7, 2023, the Israeli government is under growing pressure to bring the conflict to an end.
Israelis are increasingly alarmed about the fate of the 49 hostages still held in Gaza, of whom 20 are believed to be alive.
The UN Security Council held a special session on Tuesday to discuss Israeli hostages in Gaza, as the country seeks to keep the issue on top of the global agenda.
READ: Netanyahu says Israel must complete defeat of Hamas to free hostages
On Tuesday, Trump described a recent video released by Hamas of emaciated Israeli hostage Evyatar David purportedly digging his own grave as "horrible."
In parallel, international criticism has surged over the suffering of over two million Palestinians, who the UN warns are at risk of widespread famine.
'DANGEROUS ROUTES'
In the besieged Gaza Strip, where humanitarian aid has only been trickling in, the civil defence agency said on Wednesday that at least 22 people had been killed in an overnight incident involving an aid truck that overturned onto a crowd of aid seekers.
"The truck overturned while hundreds of civilians were waiting for food aid in the Nuseirat area" of the Gaza Strip, civil defence agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
"The truck had been forced by the Israeli army to take dangerous roads," in poor condition after being bombed, he added.
The Hamas-run government in Gaza accused Israel of "deliberately obstructing the safe passage and distribution of the aid."
Asked by AFP, the Israeli army said it was looking into the incident.
At the end of May, Israel eased the humanitarian blockade it had imposed in early March on the territory, whose population is entirely dependent on international aid.
The quantities of humanitarian supplies allowed into the Strip via land or airdrops are deemed insufficient by the UN.
The 7 October 2023, attack led to the death of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, the majority of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
The Israeli offensive launched in retaliation has killed at least 61,020 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which are considered reliable by the UN.