- The Israeli military is already suffering attrition and burnout rates among reservists forces says IDF Chief of Staff.
- IDF chief claims that hostages’ lives will be at risk if Israel decides to ‘fully conquer Gaza’.
Israel’s military chief has warned against a full takeover of Gaza amid Prime Minister Netanyahu’s consideration of a “full conquest of Gaza” according to three Israeli sources.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said in a meeting on Tuesday evening that fully conquering Gaza would trap Israeli soldiers in Gaza while also risking the lives of hostages.
He adds that the IDF is already suffering attrition and burnout rates among reservist forces and that a “full conquest” would increase it.
According to two of the sources familiar with the discussions, Zamir’s plan called for encircling Gaza City and other neighbourhoods in which hostages might be held rather than pushing for a more intrusive operation into the heart of the areas which Netanyahu is currently advocating.
The leader of Israel’s opposition party, Yair Lapid has been in talks with Netanyahu and has said: “You don’t embark on such a move unless most of the nation is behind you.
“The people of Israel are not interested in this war – we will pay too high a price for it.”
Israeli opinion polls have repeatedly stated that the majority of Israelis favours an end to the war in exchange for the release of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza.
This is likely due to war fatigue rather than sympathy for the Palestinians within Gaza as polls have also shown that majority of Israelis are not troubled by the reports of famine and suffering in Gaza with one poll showing that up to 76% of Jewish Israelis are not troubled by the famine in Gaza.
