The meeting follows a three-hour meeting this week between Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, which Israeli officials described as "tense," after Zamir rejected the plan to expand the military campaign, considering it a "strategic trap" that could prolong the war and endanger the lives of soldiers and prisoners.
In his first statement on the dispute, Zamir said Thursday at the General Staff Forum, which the IDF posted on its X platform: "We will continue to express our position fearlessly, objectively, and professionally. We are not dealing with theories, but with human lives, and we will do everything we can to return the kidnapped soldiers."
He added, "We are reaching the final lines of the Gideon Armoured Vehicles operation (in Gaza)," claiming that "the operation's objectives have been achieved, and even exceeded."
Zamir added : "We continue to work to ensure long-term security for the communities in the south and the Gaza Strip, just as we do to protect communities on all borders. Today, we have the ability to establish new, secure borders, while inflicting ongoing damage on the enemy."
This comes at a time when opinion polls show that the majority of Israelis prefer to end the war through a deal that guarantees the release of the remaining 50 prisoners, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Most of the releases so far have been the result of diplomatic negotiations, as ceasefire negotiations collapsed last July.
In this context, the mother of an Israeli prisoner urged people to take to the streets to reject the expansion of the war. The Hostage Families Forum wrote a letter to the Chief of Staff urging him to continue opposing the plan and push for an agreement that would return the prisoners and end the fighting.
For his part, Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said, "The army is committed to implementing the government's decisions until all war objectives are achieved." Meanwhile, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the complete reoccupation of the Gaza Strip and the re-establishment of Israeli settlements there.
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On the ground, the Israeli occupation army controls approximately 75% of the Gaza Strip, while more than two million Palestinians are living in catastrophic humanitarian conditions due to repeated displacement. Most of the population has been displaced multiple times over the past 22 months.
Aid organizations warn of the threat of famine, while the Ministry of Health in Gaza confirms that hunger has killed nearly 200 people, half of them children. Netanyahu's government is also facing increasing international pressure to halt the war, amid UN criticism of the potential expansion of military operations.
Domestically, 52% of Israelis hold their government fully or partially responsible for the failure to reach an agreement with Hamas, according to a recent poll published by the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies.
Tel Aviv estimates there are 50 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, 20 of whom are still alive. More than 10,800 Palestinians are languishing in its prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect, many of whom have died, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
On July 24, Israel withdrew from indirect negotiations with Hamas in Doha, following Tel Aviv's intransigence on the withdrawal from Gaza, ending the war, Palestinian prisoners, and the mechanism for distributing humanitarian aid.
With American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The genocide left 61,258 Palestinians dead, 152,045 injured, and more than 9,000 missing. Hundreds of thousands were displaced, and a famine claimed the lives of many, including dozens of children.
