Netanyahu’s Gaza reoccupation plan risks ‘endless war,’ Israeli opposition leaders warn

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL

Two prominent Israeli opposition leaders warned Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reported plan to fully reoccupy the Gaza Strip would drag Israel into an “endless war” while endangering the lives of captives held in the enclave.

Yair Golan, head of the Democrats Party, urged army chief Eyal Zamir not to resign in the face of mounting pressure.

“Do not quit. Stand firm against the political leadership that is pulling us into an endless war in Gaza,” Golan wrote on X.

Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the Israel Beiteinu Party, told Israel’s public broadcaster KAN that Zamir was “the only rational voice in the Cabinet.”

“Netanyahu does not care about the captives or the soldiers. He only seeks to prolong the war out of sheer lust for power.”

Israeli Channel 12 reported Monday that Netanyahu has already decided, with US approval, to pursue full reoccupation of Gaza, targeting areas believed to hold captives. Officials close to the premier called on Zamir to resign if he opposed the plan.

The debate has grown increasingly heated in recent days. On Sunday, Zamir warned that a large-scale ground operation could put Israeli captives’ lives in jeopardy. Israeli rights group Breaking the Silence also condemned the reported plan, calling it “a death sentence for the captives, soldiers sent into a pointless battle, and countless Gazans labeled as collateral damage.”

Meanwhile, Ayelet Sidov Hacohen, founder of the Mothers at the Front movement, criticized what she called the “sacrifice of ordinary soldiers,” noting that the sons of far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir were not serving in Gaza.

Netanyahu is expected to convene a security meeting later Tuesday to discuss options for expanding military operations, despite resistance from the security establishment.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 61,000 Palestinians, almost half of them women and children. Israel’s military campaign has devastated the enclave and brought it to the verge of famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.