The Financial Times newspaper published an editorial in which it said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed in leadership, amid signs of American dissatisfaction with the way he managed the war and the absence of plans for the future of Gaza.

While Netanyahu, as he waged the war against Hamas in Gaza, relied on unwavering American support, Israel's strong ally has doubts as the bombing continues and the death toll in the Strip increases.

Last week, President Joe Biden described Netanyahu's government as far-right, criticized the "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza, and said that the Israeli prime minister must "change."

Biden's comments reflect growing unease in Washington over Israel's management of the war, the massive destruction and rising death toll that Palestinians say has reached 19.500. The comments also reflect broader concerns about the prime minister and the power extremists exercise over the coalition he leads.

The newspaper comments that the West has generally been united in its support for Israel since the Hamas attacks on October 7, but an increasing number of countries want the bombing campaign to stop. The United States expects Israel to shift to a more targeted phase, which means fewer bombing rounds and fewer civilian casualties.

The more Netanyahu resists American advice, the greater the risk of Israel's isolation. The United States is pushing for a post-war plan, and hopes to use the unfolding catastrophe to divert attention to a political vision and resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is what will help appease Arab allies and help them ease their people's anger over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. But Netanyahu does not go along with the plan, and refuses to work to achieve the idea of establishing a Palestinian state, even though it remains the only long-term solution to settle the conflict.

The United States and Arab countries want to strengthen the Palestinian National Authority as a reliable alternative to the hard-line leadership of Hamas. Netanyahu is working to undermine the National Authority, which administers limited areas in the West Bank, and has not presented any plan for Gaza other than his pledge to eliminate Hamas. Before the Hamas attacks, Netanyahu became a force of destruction in Israel, and to secure his rise to power, in December he joined extremist nationalist and supranational forces and formed the most extremist government in Israel's history. He then continued to attempt to undermine the independence of the judiciary and democratic values, sparking a massive campaign of demonstrations.

Critics accuse Netanyahu of not addressing the Hamas threat during his dominance of Israeli politics in the past 14 years. He tried to contain the militant threat behind the security fence, while at the same time using Hamas's rule to divide the Palestinians and resisting calls to revive the peace process. However, under his watch, Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel. The leaders of the security services apologized for the mistake, but Netanyahu did not express remorse.

As long as the war continues, Netanyahu will remain secure in his position, despite the decline in his popularity, and if it stops, elections will be held or demonstrations will return against his leadership. Nothing will move as long as he remains in office and sits with the extremists at the head of the table. A new government will likely not directly change the dynamics in a traumatized country. The October 7 attacks reduced the Israelis' faith in peace, but it is the safe option that guarantees peace with the Palestinians, even though it is not possible at the present time. At a time of panic and dismay, people look for leaders who acknowledge this reality and are prepared to defend the two-state solution, and Netanyahu was never that leader.

Anshel Beaver saw in The Times newspaper that Netanyahu is entrenched in the government with calls for a ceasefire. He said that since the October 7 attacks, Israel has failed to reconcile its primary goal of destroying Hamas with its ability to rule in Gaza, with the aim of freeing 240 Hamas hostages. As the killing of three hostages on Friday showed, this is very difficult to achieve. The war government decided to follow a strategy of excessive force and negotiate with Hamas through Qatar. The talks succeeded last month and led to the liberation of 110 hostages, including 86 Israelis and 24 foreigners who were released during the temporary truce. Since the end of the truce, with 130 hostages remaining, Hamas has imposed more difficult conditions than those it had previously requested regarding how to stop the war.

Anshel Peifer: Since the October 7 attacks, Israel has failed to reconcile its primary goal of destroying Hamas with its ability to rule in Gaza with the aim of freeing 240 Hamas hostages.

Netanyahu is under pressure from Western allies to achieve a sustainable ceasefire, as stated in statements by the British and German Foreign Ministers. But Netanyahu did not change his position and stressed that continuing military action would lead to the liberation of the hostages, and “we will continue to fight until victory.” Perhaps the talk of fighting was directed at his base, which polls show has abandoned him.

Israeli defense officials are talking about a change in strategy in the coming weeks, with mobile methods and fewer soldiers on the ground, in the hope of alleviating the fears of the allies and opening the way for negotiations with Hamas to free the hostages or carry out effective rescue operations. Until then, the hostages will have been at war for more than a hundred days, and attempts to rescue them may have been delayed.