Israeli War Cabinet member Gadi Eisenkot has criticized the way Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is waging the war against Hamas in Gaza, suggesting that a complete victory over the Palestinian Islamist organization is unrealistic.
"Whoever talks about absolute defeat is not telling the truth," Eysenkot said in a televised interview hours after Netanyahu rejected the idea of elections in the midst of a war that he said could continue into 2025 and vowed to " bring total victory in response to Hamas attacks" on southern Israel on October 7.
Eisenkot, the former Israeli chief of staff, whose son and nephew were killed in the latest war, said the situation in Gaza "is such that the goals of the war have not yet been achieved."
Israel has pledged to destroy Hamas's military and Gaza governance capabilities and remove the threat to Israelis, but has come under fire for having no plan for a post-war Palestinian territory at a time when the death toll of Palestinian civilians is rising. Israeli leaders also promised the return of the hostages.
A member of the War Cabinet, Ajenkot, from the opposition National Union party, however, expressed doubts about the strategy of releasing the hostages, of whom, out of about 240 abducted, there are still 132 in captivity, as is believed.
He believes that only a ceasefire can lead to the release of the hostages still held by the extremists in Gaza and that claims that they can be released by other means are spreading "illusions".
The statement, made late last night, is the latest sign of disagreement between political and military leaders over the direction of Israel's offensive against Hamas, which has entered its fourth month, according to the Associated Press.
In addition, the US, Israel's closest ally, which has provided strong military and political support for the army's operations, is increasingly calling for a reduction in attacks and for steps to be taken towards the establishment of a Palestinian state after the war, which Netanyahu flatly refused.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said the fighting would continue until Hamas was defeated and argued that only military action could lead to the release of the hostages.
Hamas is demanding an end to the war before discussing it and demanding the release of thousands of Palestinians in exchange for hostages held in Gaza.
Commentators have begun to question whether Netanyahu's goals are realistic given the slow pace of the offensive and growing international criticism, including a genocide lawsuit at the UN's highest court.
Netanyahu's opponents accuse him of delaying any discussion of a post-war scenario to avoid investigations into government failings, hold the coalition together and postpone elections.
Opinion polls show that the popularity of Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, has plummeted during the war.
Eisenkot told TV Channel 12 that the hostages would be returned alive if there was an agreement involving a significant pause in the fighting.
He assessed that dramatic rescue operations are unlikely because the hostages are apparently in various places, many in underground tunnels.
Eisenkot also said that strategic decisions about the direction of the war must be made urgently and that the discussion about the end should have started immediately after the start of the deadliest and most destructive conflict in recent history, in which almost 25.000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed.
On the Israeli side, around 1.200 people died, most of them on the first day of the war. More than 190 Israeli soldiers were killed in the ground offensive that began at the end of October.
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