TEL AVIV (Dispatches) — Tensions have reached a breaking point between Israeli army chief of staff Eyal Zamir and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right regime over the ongoing war on Gaza, according to a report by Israeli Army Radio on Monday.
Zamir is demanding “strategic clarity” from the political leadership, warning that the military lacks clear instructions or a defined vision for the next phase of the nearly 22-month-long war, which has drawn widespread international condemnation for its devastating toll on Gaza’s civilian population.
“The army is not receiving any orders or clear instructions,” said military correspondent Doron Kadosh, citing Zamir’s frustrations with the cabinet’s prolonged inactivity on war planning. 
Since May, when Israel launched “Operation Gideon’s Chariots” following the breakdown of a ceasefire with Gaza’s Hamas resistance, the regime’s military has operated without a clear endgame.
The operation aims to “defeat” Hamas, dismantle its governing and military capabilities, and control up to three-quarters of the Gaza Strip. Yet Zamir himself acknowledged in April that Hamas remains resilient and the army overstretched.
“Instead of draining Hamas, Hamas will drain the army through guerrilla warfare,” Zamir warned in closed-door sessions, emphasizing the risks of prolonged occupation. 
The Israeli military reportedly plans to present the regime with two options: a full Gaza occupation or an encirclement strategy to exhaust Hamas. The military favors the latter, citing the extreme cost and years required for a complete occupation.
The genocidal Israeli war has caused the deaths of over 60,800 civilians in Gaza, primarily women and children, according to independent sources. Israeli soldiers have also suffered significant casualties, with 38 killed in the past two months.
Despite growing military fatigue, the Netanyahu regime pushes ahead with plans to occupy and settle Gaza. However, resistance factions, including Hamas’s Qassam Brigades, have intensified attacks on Israeli forces.
Hamas demands a full Israeli withdrawal and guarantees for a lasting ceasefire, rejecting calls for disarmament. The resistance movement reaffirmed on Saturday that its weapons remain a “national and legal right as long as the occupation persists,” dismissing U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff’s claims that Hamas is prepared to surrender arms.