The privately owned Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Friday that Zamir "is at a sharp crossroads in his relationship with the political echelon."
She noted that he "has one bullet in the fire," a metaphor that suggests resignation may be his only remaining option if negotiations falter.
Disagreements escalated between Zamir and the Netanyahu government over the handling of the detainee issue in Gaza and the continuation of military operations without a clear political roadmap.
According to the newspaper, the current crisis "goes beyond the usual institutional disputes" and was exacerbated by statements and behaviors made by a number of ministers during cabinet meetings, which were described as an "institutional insult" to the army.
The newspaper added that reaching a swap deal might ease the crisis within the security establishment, but continued failure on this issue "may prompt Zamir to reconsider his continued tenure."
In the same context, the private Israeli Channel 12 reported, citing informed sources, that Zamir "explicitly expressed his displeasure with the escalating tension between the political and military leadership," and called on the political leadership to make clear decisions regarding the continuation of the war on the Gaza Strip.
The report noted that Netanyahu "tends to avoid making critical decisions," placing the burden of managing the situation on the military establishment, in the absence of clear political direction.
Opposition criticism
In a related context, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said in a post on the X platform on Friday: "Every member of the government should watch the video of Evitar today before going to sleep, and try to fall asleep while thinking of Evitar trying to survive inside the tunnel."
For his part, opposition Democratic Party leader Yair Golan said via the X platform: "Netanyahu is not returning the prisoners because he doesn't want to, because he knows it would hurt him politically. That's the truth."
According to Yedioth Ahronoth, a number of families of detainees and former detainees have called on the government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, to conclude an immediate deal to free their children from the suffering they are facing in Gaza.
Earlier on Friday, the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, released a video of Israeli captive Evitar, showing him suffering from severe weight loss as a result of Tel Aviv's continued starvation policy in Gaza.
The video showed the detainee sitting on a bed in a cramped room, his bones clearly visible as a result of malnutrition. The clip also included earlier scenes of him in a car with another detainee, watching the release of Israeli detainees as part of a previous exchange deal during a truce that took place last January.
In the video, broadcast in three languages (Arabic, Hebrew, and English), Al-Qassam Brigades said that its detainees "eat what we eat and drink what we drink." It accompanied the video with footage of children from Gaza showing signs of malnutrition, amid the ongoing Israeli blockade.
The video also included statements by Israeli officials regarding the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Netanyahu was seen saying, "Let the minimum amount of aid enter," while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was seen saying, "I think that in the next stage, what should be sent to Gaza are bombs," referring to the insistence of senior Israeli officials on starving Gaza, including the prisoners held by Hamas.
On February 23, Qassam Brigades broadcast a video of the moments of the handover of the Israeli detainees that day. The video showed two detainees inside a Qassam Brigades vehicle, watching the scene in shock and astonishment. Among them was Evitar, who was suffering from malnutrition.
The two detainees then sent a letter to Netanyahu, urging him to continue with the deal to ensure their return home.
However, the Qassam Brigades have said in various statements that Netanyahu does not care about the lives of Israeli prisoners in Gaza for the sake of his own political interests.
These developments coincide with a round of direct negotiations between Hamas and Israel, which began on July 6 in Doha under Qatari and Egyptian sponsorship and with US support, with the aim of reaching a prisoner exchange agreement and a ceasefire.
However, Israel and the United States recently announced the withdrawal of their teams from the talks for consultations, which was interpreted as an indication that the process had stalled.
Since the genocide began on October 7, 2023, Israel has been simultaneously committing a starvation crime against the Palestinians of Gaza. On March 2, it tightened its measures by closing all crossings to humanitarian, relief, and medical aid, causing famine to spread and reaching "catastrophic" levels.
The genocide, with American support, left approximately 208,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 9,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and a famine that claimed the lives of many.
