Israel's Military Brass Turns on Netanyahu: Gaza War Splits the Generals
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The Generals Revolt
Former IDF chiefs break ranks over Gaza's 'unwinnable' war
Six former heads of Israel's military have done the unthinkable—publicly called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the Gaza offensive. These aren't peaceniks; they're battle-hardened commanders like Dan Halutz, who led the 2006 Lebanon war, and Gadi Eisenkot, whose own son died fighting Hamas in December. Their joint letter to Israel's cabinet this week didn't mince words: 'This isn't self-defense anymore. We're losing the world.'
Their intervention cracks open a dam of dissent that's been building since October. While Netanyahu insists Israel is 'weeks from total victory,' the ex-generals see a quagmire. Gaza's death toll has passed 38,000, according to local health officials, and the UN reports 1.1 million face 'catastrophic hunger'—a claim Netanyahu dismisses as 'Hamas propaganda.' But when military legends start quoting Clausewitz about wars being 'the continuation of policy by other means,' it's clear the gloves are off.
The Starvation Gambit
How food became a weapon—and a PR disaster
Netanyahu's claim that hunger in Gaza is 'fake news' collides with satellite imagery showing 85% of the enclave's farmland destroyed. The World Food Programme's Carl Skau testified to the UN last week that only 17% of needed food trucks are getting through. 'Children are boiling weeds to survive,' one nurse in Rafah told TIME.
The PM's office points to 200 daily aid trucks—but UN data shows that's half of pre-war levels for a population now crammed into tent cities. When Defense Minister Yoav Gallant admitted last month that Israel was imposing 'a complete siege' early in the war, it gave Amnesty International smoking-gun evidence for its genocide case at The Hague. Now even staunch allies like Germany are balking; their latest arms shipment to Israel came with a note demanding 'immediate humanitarian access.'
The Hostage Calculus
Families' fury as military ops jeopardize captives
Eisenkot's turn against Netanyahu carries extra weight—his nephew was among the 120 hostages taken on October 7. In a searing Knesset speech in January, he blasted the government for prioritizing 'destroying Hamas' over bringing captives home alive. 'Every day of fighting reduces their chances,' he warned. Three months later, IDF raids have accidentally killed at least three hostages with friendly fire.
Hostage families now openly curse Netanyahu at protests. 'You're trading my son for your political survival!' shouted Hagit Chen, whose 19-year-old remains missing. With Hamas demanding a permanent ceasefire for any large-scale hostage release, the ex-generals argue Israel's current approach—incremental deals tied to military pauses—is backfiring. Their letter notes Hamas has actually gained recruits since the war began, per IDF intelligence.
The Biden Factor
How U.S. pressure is reshaping the battlefield
Washington's patience is wearing thin. After Netanyahu snubbed Biden's post-October 7 advice ('Don't repeat our mistakes after 9/11'), the White House is now playing hardball. The delayed bomb shipment wasn't just about Rafah—it coincided with Blinken's report to Congress that Israel 'likely violated' international law using U.S. arms.
But the generals' revolt gives Biden unexpected leverage. Their letter endorses the president's phased ceasefire plan, which Netanyahu has dodged for weeks. With Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin quietly sharing intelligence with Eisenkot (they met in Tel Aviv in December), there's a sense the U.S. is hedging its bets. 'The professional military class sees the abyss ahead,' says former Mossad director Ephraim Halevy. 'Netanyahu sees only the protesters blocking his driveway.'
What Comes Next
A nation's moral reckoning—with or without Bibi
History looms large here. The ex-generals' letter invokes Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon—another war that started with overwhelming public support before dragging on for 18 years. 'We swore 'never again' to endless occupations,' writes Ehud Barak, the last Labor Party PM. Yet Gaza's ruins now stretch farther than Beirut's in the '80s.
The wildcard is the International Criminal Court. With arrest warrants pending against Netanyahu and Hamas leaders, both sides face unprecedented accountability. But as former IDF chief Moshe Ya'alon told Haaretz: 'When your own soldiers start asking if they'll end up in The Hague, you've already lost.' With polls showing 72% of Israelis want early elections, the real question isn't whether Netanyahu's strategy will change—it's who'll be left to clean up the aftermath.
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