Israel's military efforts to invade Gaza are clearly at odds with Netanyahu

Israeli armored vehicles on the Lebanese border on Sunday: clashes with Hezbollah have steadily escalated over the past week Photo: Atef Safadi/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The Israeli military is pushing for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip «sooner rather than later» due to differences with Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Israeli prime minister is believed to be postponing the operation, fearing a second front with Hezbollah on north of the country.

Several Israeli media reported on Monday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were looking forward to the invasion as troops waited on the border after the largest mobilization campaign in 50 years.

This came as the IDF clashed with Hamas in the Gaza Strip during night raids considered part of reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions ahead of a full-fledged offensive.

In comments published by The Times of Israel on Monday, military sources said the IDF should launch a ground operation in the Gaza Strip «sooner rather than later» and that it is «fully prepared for a ground offensive.»

Defense officials warned that the Israeli government needs to make a decision quickly because troops have been at the border for days and «can only remain on high alert for so long.»

Within days of the October 7 attacks, Israel called up more than 300,000 reservists, and shortly thereafter large numbers of troops and weapons were seen in the south.

Meanwhile on Sunday Channel 14, which is believed to be close to Mr Netanyahu, quoted unnamed officials as saying the escalating violence along the Lebanese border meant «we shouldn't now enter Gaza.”

The competing briefings were said to arise from a «crisis of confidence» between the prime minister and his top leadership, and the Yediot Ahronot daily said the military was frustrated by its political leader's indecisiveness.

Poe reportedly over an alleged row between the prime minister and the military, Mr. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued a joint statement late Monday, pledging “full and mutual trust” between them and condemning “false publications.”

During a trip south on Monday, Mr. Gallant told troops:

“Stay ready for the attack, because it will happen. We are carefully preparing for the next stage. It will be a deadly attack.»

On Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu spoke to troops stationed near the Lebanese border, where he warned Hezbollah against «making the mistake of a lifetime» by entering the war amid fears that the Iranian-backed group may try to open a second front.

“We will harm her with a force she cannot imagine, and the consequences for her and the Lebanese state will be devastating,” he said.

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Meanwhile, divisions are emerging between elite Hezbollah commandos in southern Lebanon, who are pushing for an all-out war with Israel, and more cautious militia leaders in Beirut, Israelis say analysts.

Of particular concern is Hezbollah's elite al-Haj Radwan group, a well-equipped 2,500-strong commando group that recently saw action in Syria and is now well entrenched. in southern Lebanon.

They are similar to the Hamas Nukhba forces that led the October 7 attack and were recently seen rehearsing a similar ground attack on the Galilee in northern Israel.

Professor Manuel Traitenberg, executive director of the Tel Institute for National Security Studies at Aviv University, said there was tension between Beirut's leadership and Hezbollah militants on the ground.

“There are signs that Radwan is impatient; their commanders on the ground are ready to act because they have been planning this for so long, they have been taught this, they are ready, and so on.

“We know that there is tension. [with management], and it’s dangerous,” he said.

Clashes between the Israeli military and Hezbollah have steadily escalated over the past week, prompting Israel to order an unprecedented evacuation of dozens of communities along the border. region, home to about 200,000 people.

Sirens sounded in northern Israel on Monday morning as Israeli The military detected a “suspicious air target” flying from Lebanon. An interceptor was launched to attack it.

At least 5,087 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israeli bombing began earlier this month, the Hamas-controlled health ministry said Monday.

In Gaza, doctors have been forced to operate without morphine, Leo Kans told CNN on Monday. , head of the Medicins Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) mission in Jerusalem.

“I discussed this with one of our surgeons who yesterday delivered a 10-year-old child who received burns on 60 percent of the body surface, and as a result he They didn’t give me painkillers,” he said.

Aid groups are sounding the alarm about a worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

ActionAid Palestine on Monday called last night the deadliest 24 hours in the besieged enclave, citing Hamas-controlled health officials who said the result Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 400 Palestinians.

They also warned that Al Shifa Hospital, the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, could soon be closed as it could run out of fuel within the next 48 hours.

In addition, the UN agency reported that Palestinians in the sector Gazas are increasingly suffering from chickenpox, scabies and diarrhea due to deteriorating sanitation conditions and the need to use salt water from agricultural wells.

A third convoy of humanitarian aid arrived on Monday. trucks were entering the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing from Egypt.

The UN said at least 100 trucks a day were needed to meet the basic needs of the area's two million people.

Just a dozen trucks were seen passing through the Rafah crossing on Monday afternoon.

Israel carried out «deep» night raids into the Gaza Strip on Monday to «destroy terrorist squads preparing for the next phase of the war» , an IDF spokesman said.

The Israel Defense Forces said its incursions were used to gather intelligence and improve their military readiness. “At night, [Israeli] tank and infantry forces carried out raids,” said Israel’s chief military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

Calling the attack “deep,” he added: “These raids are raids that which are destroyed by detachments of terrorists preparing for the next stage of the war.”