Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions in the war against Hamas came under criticism by a Former Israel Defence Forces spokesman against the background of Hamas accepting a US offer to negotiate over Israeli hostages.
Former IDF spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner, stated the international standing of Israel has plummeted and confirmed the government’s inability to maintain widespread support for the war against Hamas over time, CNN said. According to him, Israel’s war in Gaza had a certain degree of legitimacy in the days after 7 October, but public relations began to collapse thereafter because of Israel’s actions. In particular also due to the actions of ministers who downplayed the legitimacy of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Netanyahu promised a complete victory over Hamas. But in the international arena he and his government led us to defeat. There is no political strategy for the war, even after nine months in which we are fighting on two fronts. (…) Hamas damaged almost all the power lines that connect Gaza to Israel. We had the opportunity to come and say: Hamas is harming the citizens of Gaza, and we, Israel, will try to fix it, but only if he stops the shooting. Instead, the Minister of Energy at the time, Israel Katz, comes out with populist statements about the fact that he will cut them off from electricity and will not deliver fuel to them either.
Two specific problems were identified by the former army spokesman: the government’s inability to formulate a strategy for the post-war Gaza Strip and ministers who deliberately made bellicose statements in order to gain favour with their constituents. He further added that strategising for the post-war Gaza Strip was not the army’s task, as he frequently encountered this issue from various media outlets.
I quickly realised that I had no answers to these questions, not because they haven’t been decided yet, but because they simply aren’t going to be decided. I don’t have the ammunition I need to deal with the interviewers’ questions. I just had to say that I am speaking on behalf of the army, and that these questions are the responsibility of the government. But the government also had no answers, because it was politically inconvenient.
Lerner’s criticism followed numerous reports of tensions between Netanyahu and Israel’s military leadership, referring to the situation last week when the prime minister rejected the idea of initiating a ceasefire in Gaza while Hamas remains in power. Even though officials also said on condition of anonymity that the truce would be the most effective way to secure the release of Israeli hostages.
However, Benjamin Netanyahu said to this effect: “I do not know who these anonymous sources are, but I am here to make it unequivocally clear: This will not happen. The war will end once Israel achieves all of its objectives, including the destruction of Hamas and the release of all of our hostages.”
Hamas accepts US offer on Israeli hostage talks
Hamas has accepted a US offer to begin negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages, including soldiers and men. The offer, accepted 16 days after the first phase of the agreement, could lead to a framework agreement if backed by Israel and end the nine-month war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian official said.
The Israeli source said there is now a realistic chance of reaching an agreement. If successful, the mediators will guarantee a temporary ceasefire, aid delivery and Israeli withdrawal as long as indirect talks to implement the second phase of the agreement continue, the Hamas source said.
Efforts to secure a ceasefire and the release of hostages in the Gaza Strip have intensified over the past few days thanks to active shuttle diplomacy between Washington, Israel and Qatar.
The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 38,000 Palestinians since Hamas attacked towns in southern Israel on 7 October, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Gaza health officials.
