Daniel Hagari opposes Netanyahu by saying that viewing the impossible task of defeating Hamas as Israel’s ultimate goal in Gaza is “throwing sand in the eyes of the people.”
Al Jazeera broadcasts reports outside Israel because it was banned by the Israeli government.
Israel’s military spokesman has revealed a growing divide between the country’s political and military leadership, calling into question Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stated goal of destroy Hamas in the Gaza Strip so that the war ends.
After nine months of war in which more than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in the name of eliminating the armed group that rules the besieged enclave, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told Israeli Channel 13 on Wednesday that the task was impossible and simply “wrong”.
“This endeavor to destroy Hamas, to make Hamas disappear, is simply throwing sand in the public eye,” he said. “Hamas is an idea, Hamas is a party. It’s ingrained in people’s hearts: anyone who thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong.”
Reporting from Amman, Jordan, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut said Netanyahu’s office was “furious” over Hagari’s remarks.
“It just gives you an idea of Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies in this war, and the military on the ground saying this is actually not realistic,” she added.
Netanyahu’s office responded by saying that the security cabinet, chaired by the prime minister, “has defined the destruction of Hamas’s military and government capabilities as one of the objectives of the war.” The Israeli army, of course, is committed to this. »
The military quickly issued a clarification, saying it was “determined to achieve the objectives of the war as defined by the cabinet” and that it had worked on them “throughout the war, day and night, and that she would continue to do so.”
Hagari’s comments, according to the statement, “referred to the destruction of Hamas as an ideology and idea, and he said this very clearly and explicitly,” the military statement added. “Any other statement is about taking things out of context.”
Israeli political analyst Akiva Eldar said Hagari had undermined Netanyahu’s “doctrine” that Hamas could be defeated “once and for all.”
“Right now, it appears that, for the first time in many years, there is a continued escalation between the government led by Netanyahu and his entourage of journalists, analysts who are actually part – unofficially – of his team, who defame the leader. staff,” Eldar told Al Jazeera.
“It’s a kind of doomsday scenario that the army spokesperson – who reports to the chief of staff – is only undermining Netanyahu’s doctrine that: we must end once and for all to the Hamas government in Gaza,” Eldar said.
“What Hagari is saying is challenging Netanyahu and saying that actually… you’re hallucinating. »
Previous signs of discontent
There have already been clear signs of discontent with the handling of the war by Netanyahu’s government, a coalition that includes right-wing hardliners. who are opposed to any type of regulation with Hamas.
Months of internationally mediated ceasefire talks, including a proposal floated this month by U.S. President Joe Biden, have stalled.
Benny Gantz, former military leader and centrist politician, withdrew from Netanyahu’s war cabinet earlier this month, citing frustration with the prime minister’s handling of the war.
And Netanyahu expressed displeasure this week over the military’s decision to declare a “tactical pause” in the southern Gaza town of Rafah to help deliver humanitarian aid.
An aide said Netanyahu was caught off guard by the announcement, and Israeli television stations quoted him as saying: “We have a country with an army, not an army with a country.”
