After a heated session in which far-right Israeli ministers attacked the new army commander, Eyal Zamir, and threatened to dismiss him, the Israeli government's security cabinet decided to reconvene Thursday evening to approve a plan to intensify strikes on the Gaza Strip and prevent the entry of relief aid.

Political sources said the final session, held Tuesday evening, followed a phone call between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, in which it appeared that Netanyahu had been granted an additional deadline to end military operations in order to subdue Hamas and compel it to accept Israeli conditions for disarming.

According to Channel 11, the sources confirmed that Trump is asking Netanyahu to accelerate his military operations because the war has gone on too long. It is supposed to end with a long-term truce agreement that ensures Hamas's withdrawal from the battlefield.

However, in the absence of a clear plan for the day after, the military finds it difficult to accept the political leadership's view that a swift decision should be made. Yedioth Ahronoth reported that government ministers are pushing for "setting a deadline" for moving to the "decisive phase," while Netanyahu and his Defense Minister, Yisrael Katz, insist on demonstrating that "Israel is still exhausting the negotiating track" at this stage.

Kan 11 reported, citing an unnamed senior official, that Israel has decided to give the ongoing negotiations "another chance" before moving to expand military operations in the Gaza Strip. The official said that Tel Aviv has not received any new proposal from the mediators, noting that efforts are currently focused on pushing Hamas to accept the proposal of US envoy Steve Witkoff.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is leading the push to move to the "decisive phase." He held three meetings with Netanyahu over the past week, during which his main message was that "Israel cannot remain in a state of war forever."

Smotrich warned of "the slow depletion of reserve forces, the worsening economic damage, and the distancing of the goals set for the war: toppling Hamas and recovering the hostages."

Yedioth Ahronoth quoted military sources as saying that "achieving both goals simultaneously is not possible," while the families of the prisoners warned of "the conflict between these goals," demanding that the return of their loved ones be prioritized. The newspaper also quoted cabinet ministers as saying that the prevailing belief is that "the chances of a deal succeeding in the current situation appear slim." They added, "If Hamas continues to reject the offers presented, there is no point in wasting any more time."

The newspaper's sources within the cabinet indicated that the next phase should include "a broad mobilization of reserve forces, the introduction of several military divisions into Gaza, and the use of heavier firearms than those used so far." They noted that "the impression of some cabinet members is that Netanyahu is still hesitant, but may agree, under pressure, to discuss setting a deadline (for the prisoner exchange negotiations) and expanding the offensive" on the Gaza Strip.

A disagreement emerged during the session with the army chief of staff, who rejected Smotrich's request to impose military rule over the Gaza Strip and assume responsibility for distributing aid to the population according to Israeli interests. When Zamir said that "the army will not undertake such tasks that make it a food distributor," Smotrich replied that "its duty is to silently carry out the government's orders, otherwise we are looking for someone who will accept this task." Smotrich threatened on Wednesday that he would bring down the government if this did not happen.

Political sources said that Smotrich prevented the cabinet from making any decision regarding the entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, which has been halted for more than a month, and stated that "the continued lack of military progress and the entry of humanitarian aid to Hamas while our kidnapped people are there is not an option." He added, "The prime minister is the highest authority. A war must be waged to defeat Hamas, occupy Gaza and impose a temporary military rule until another solution is found, return the kidnapped people and implement the Trump plan (to displace Gazans), or this government has no right to exist."

The Defense Minister told the cabinet that within 10-15 days, Israel would be forced to bring humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, while Zamir stressed that "the Israeli army will not be the entity distributing it," according to the Ynet website.

Smotrich responded to Zamir, saying, “The army doesn’t choose its missions. We decided and said that you must prepare for this. We decide what you do and you decide how you will carry it out. If you can’t carry it out, we will bring someone else who can. If you don’t know how, we will find someone else who knows how to carry it out. We decide that aid that reaches Hamas will not enter, and I don’t care how you do it. If you don’t know how to carry it out, tell the political echelon, ‘I don’t know.’ The army doesn’t choose its missions in a democratic system.”

Ynet quoted cabinet ministers as saying that Smotrich's tone toward Zamir was "very firm." One minister said that Smotrich "actually exploded at Zamir," telling him, "You're not going to stand here and tell us you won't carry out the mission. That won't happen. Only the political echelon decides what the missions are."

military rule

Channel 12 reported on Wednesday that establishing military rule would entail "enormous costs," including employing thousands of soldiers in military-related duties for at least a year. "No army chief of staff, including Zamir, has approved of it, nor has the defense minister." The channel added that "Smotrich does not understand the depth of the problem he finds himself in," and that by attacking Zamir, he was "looking for a figure to climb on in order to attract votes in his favor, especially since Smotrich himself approved Zamir's appointment to his position, but he is suffering from a severe political crisis; polls indicate that he will lose in any upcoming elections."