Israeli war cabinet minister, Benny Gantz has threatened to resign unless Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sets out a post-war plan for the Gaza Strip.
According to BBC, Gantz has set June 8 deadline for a plan to achieve six “strategic goals”. These include “the end of Hamas rule in Gaza and the establishment of a multinational civilian administration for the territory.”
“If you put the national over personal, you will find in us partners in the struggle.
“But if you choose the path of fanatics and lead the entire nation to the abyss, we will be forced to quit the government,” Gantz said.
However, BBC stated that Netanyahu dismissed the comments as “washed-up words” that would mean “defeat for Israel”.
Recall that the growing political rift over the direction of the war comes as fighting is raging at both ends of the Gaza Strip. Israeli forces are pushing deeper into Jabalia near Gaza City, one of Gaza’s historic refugee camps. This is an area that the Israeli military had previously said it had cleared of Hamas fighters.
Gantz’ comments came just days after another war cabinet member, Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, voiced out concern over the war. Gallant had urged Netanyahu to state publicly that Israel had no plans to take over civilian and military rule in Gaza.
According to Gallant, “he had raised the issue repeatedly for months but had received no response.”
The duo of Gallant and Gantz had stated that maintaining military control in Gaza would increase Israel’s security risks. But this view in contrary to that of others, including far-right members of Netanyahu’s ruling coalition in the Government. They believe that continued control of Gaza is necessary in order to defeat Hamas.
In a televised address on Saturday, Gantz told Netanyahu that the “people of Israel are watching you”.
“You must choose between Zionism and cynicism. Between unity and factions, between responsibility and lawlessness. And between victory and disaster,” he said.
Among the six strategic goals Gantz set out were the return of all Israeli and foreign hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. And also, the return of displaced Palestinian civilians to northern Gaza by 1 September.
Gantz also said Israel should continue to seek the normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia. This, he said, is part of a “comprehensive process to create an alliance with the free world and the West against Iran and its allies”.
But responding to Gantz’s speech, Netanyahu said that to meet Gantz’s demands would lead to “the end of the war and a defeat for Israel. It will also cause the abandoning of most of the hostages. Thereby, leaving Hamas intact and the establishment of a Palestinian State”.
According to BBC, the Israel’s war cabinet was established after Hamas attacked Israeli communities near Gaza on October 7. Killing around 1,200 people and taking hostages.
“Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza has killed 35,386 people,” the Hamas-run health ministry says.
“The Chief of Staff of the country’s army, Herzi Halevi, has also privately pressed on Netanyahu the need for a “day after” strategy,” according to reports in Israeli media.
BBC reports that recent days have seen the Israeli military re-enter areas of northern Gaza previously declared clear of Hamas. It maintained that this has raised doubts about the Government’s strategy for eliminating Hamas.
“Halevi is said to have argued that, absent a diplomatic process to establish a governing body other than Hamas, the military will be forced to launch repeated campaigns to keep the group at bay,” BBC said.
However, Gantz has proposed an American, European, Arab, and Palestinian administration that could manage civilian affairs in Gaza. This is while the foundations are laid for a future alternative government.
He, also, added that Israel could maintain a degree of “security control” in the meantime.
“In Jabalia, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said they fought battles with Palestinian armed groups.” Palestinian medics said one of the Israeli strikes had killed 15 people.
“Hamas said Israel’s “brutal raids” on Jabalia had killed dozens of civilians and wounded hundreds more,’ BBC
“Late on Saturday Israel also issued new evacuation orders for parts of northern Gaza. It claimed that armed groups had fired rockets at Israel.
“Israel also launched air strikes and raids on targets in eastern Rafah in southern Gaza on Saturday, BBC reported.
Recall that last week, Israel launched operations in southern Gaza. To which civilians from elsewhere in Gaza had previously been told to evacuate. Israel said it needed to enter the city in order to target Hamas’ last remaining strongholds, BBC said.
And according to the head of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, some 800,000 Palestinians had now left Rafah. He stated that they are seeking shelter in the shattered city of Khan Younis or along the coast.
“Since the war in Gaza began, Palestinians have been forced to flee multiple times in search of safety that they have never found,” he said.
“When people move, they are exposed, without safe passage or protection. Every time, they are forced to leave behind the few belongings they have; mattresses, tents, cooking utensils. And also, basic supplies that they cannot carry or pay to transport.
“The claim that people in Gaza can move to ‘safe’ or ‘humanitarian’ zones is false. Each time, it puts the lives of civilians at serious risk,” Lazzarini said.
source: BBC News