Last Friday, the Security Cabinet approved a plan proposed by Netanyahu, which calls for a military operation to reoccupy the Gaza Strip. The operation will begin in Gaza City by displacing its residents southward, then encircle the city and carry out incursions into residential areas. A second phase will follow, including control of refugee camps in the central Gaza Strip.
The decision sparked a wave of protests within Israel, as families of prisoners and missing persons considered the plan a "death sentence" for their sons held by Hamas.
The prisoners' families, along with Israeli companies and universities, also announced their intention to organize a general strike on August 17 in rejection of the plan.
Golan said, via the X platform, that Netanyahu "demands personal loyalty at the expense of state security," adding that the prime minister "continues to deplete reserve soldiers and, in collaboration with National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leads them into death traps set by Hamas."
Golan pointed to disagreements between Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, who opposes the proposed plan. Zamir instead favors encircling multiple areas in the Gaza Strip to exert military pressure on Hamas, with the goal of securing the release of prisoners without getting entangled in what he described as "strategic traps."
Haaretz and The Times of Israel reported Tuesday evening that Zamir informed military and civilian leaders that associates of Netanyahu were seeking to remove him due to his opposition to the proposed operation in Gaza City.
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For his part, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called on Wednesday for Zamir's dismissal if he did not dismiss what he described as a "conspiracy cell" within the army.
Ben-Gvir posted a photomontage of Zamir alongside five other figures on his X platform, including former Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, arguing that their continued presence in their positions undermines military discipline.
Official Israeli estimates indicate that there are approximately 50 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, of whom approximately 20 are believed to be still alive. Meanwhile, Israel is holding more than 10,800 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom are suffering from dire humanitarian conditions, according to local and international human rights reports.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with American support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The Israeli genocide left 61,599 Palestinians dead and 154,088 injured, most of them children and women. More than 9,000 people were missing, hundreds of thousands were displaced, and a famine claimed the lives of 227 people, including 103 children.
For decades, Israel has occupied Palestine and territories in Syria and Lebanon, and refuses to withdraw from these territories and establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, along the pre-1967 borders.
