Israel’s government has insisted that the war in Gaza will only conclude with the destruction of Hamas after its military spokesman said that the group could not be eradicated, a move that has underscored the rifts between Binyamin Netanyahu and the Israel Defence Forces.
“The security cabinet, chaired by prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, has defined the destruction of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities as one of the goals of the war,” a statement from the prime minister’s office read on Wednesday night. “The IDF is, of course, committed to this.”
In the face of mounting international and domestic anger over the continuation of the hostage crisis and failure to protect civilian lives in Gaza, Netanyahu has consistently defended his mission: the total destruction of the Islamist group.
So far he has been backed by Israel’s military in words and actions, with the main IDF spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, reaffirming the official war aim as details of the day’s military action are relayed nightly on Israeli television.
On Wednesday, however, Hagari appeared to contradict the long-cited official shibboleth, saying the “idea” of Hamas could not be defeated.
Advertisement
“This business of destroying Hamas, making Hamas disappear — it’s simply throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” Hagari told Israel’s Channel 13 News in an interview. “Hamas is an idea, Hamas is a political party. It’s rooted in the hearts of the people — whoever thinks we can eliminate Hamas is mistaken. Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood, it has been around for many, many years.”
His comments came as protests ramp up across the country calling on Netanyahu to step down over his failure to secure the release of the remaining 116 hostages held by Hamas.
Hamas took some 240 hostages during their attack on Israel on October 7. On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal cited US officials and Israeli intelligence suggesting that 66 of those still held could no longer be alive, 25 more than Israel has publicly admitted.
The Islamist group, which rules the Gaza Strip, has previously told peace-talk mediators that it does not know how many hostages are alive. The United States, Egypt and Qatar are attempting to broker talks that will lead to an end to the hostilities.
However, talks are stalling over Israel’s stated aim that Hamas must be defeated and Hamas’s insistence that a permanent ceasefire has to be part of the deal.
Advertisement
The UN-backed proposal by President Biden would lead to the release of all hostages in return for steps towards a cessation of the war, under the US assumption that Hamas would no longer pose a military threat to Israel.
Israel’s war cabinet, made up of centrists including Gadi Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the IDF, and Benny Gantz, the leader of the centrist National Unity alliance, disbanded this week over Netanyahu’s failure to come up with a postwar plan for Gaza. In his resignation speech, Gantz said “crucial decisions are being met with hesitation”, adding that a diplomatic and civilian initiative was needed to overcome Hamas.
Hagari’s latest comments appear to indicate the military’s need for a postwar plan as the campaign against Hamas continues, mainly in the southern city of Rafah, although Hamas’s presence has also re-emerged in northern areas that Israel had claimed to have cleared. “If we don’t bring something else to Gaza, at the end of the day we will get Hamas,” Hagari said.
The head of the IDF, Herzi Halevi, has previously spoken out against the government’s lack of vision, calling the military campaign to rid Gaza of Hamas a “Sisyphean task”.
While the US has called for a “revitalised” Palestinian Authority (which partially rules the West Bank) to administer the Gaza Strip, part of a pathway towards a two-state solution, Israel’s government has repeatedly rejected the idea.
Advertisement
“What can be done is to develop something else to replace it [Hamas],” Hagari said. “Something that will make the population realise that someone else is distributing the food, someone else is taking care of public services. To really weaken Hamas, this is the way.”
A senior Hamas official called Hagari’s comments a “frank confession” and “an admission that [Israel] has already failed”.
Ghazi Hamad, a member of the group’s politburo, said in an interview with Al Jazeera that the “Hamas movement will remain in the political scene and will be a permanent part of the social fabric and the fabric of resistance”.
