TEL AVIV—Seven lawmakers from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition say the latest Gaza war plan does "not reflect a serious intent to defeat Hamas and achieve victory," according to a letter obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
In the two-page letter, sent to senior Israeli officials on May 5 and not previously reported, the lawmakers called for "a basic change in the military’s operational plan" in the Gaza Strip, warning that the current strategy is "flawed in conception, disconnected from the real capabilities of the enemy, and based on assumptions that will cost many lives before achieving questionable results." "Only through total defeat of Hamas can we restore deterrence and win the war," the lawmakers added.
Amit Halevi, Ariel Kallner, and Hanoch Milwidsky of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, Ohad Tal and Michael Woldiger of Religious Zionism, and Limor Son Har-Melech Otzma Yehudit addressed the letter to military chief of staff Eyal Zamir and copied Netanyahu, defense minister Israel Katz, and Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein.
The letter—sent just hours before Israel’s security cabinet approved Operation Gideon’s Chariots, the recently launched phase of the military campaign in Gaza—is a signal of growing internal skepticism about government and military leaders’ commitment to wrest control of Gaza from Hamas. At the same time, the leadership faces mounting domestic and international pressure to end the war.
Halevi, a member of the influential Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee until his ouster last week, said in an interview that Israel’s war plan cannot accomplish full security control of Gaza or "total victory" over Hamas as promised by Netanyahu.
"Just as you can’t be half pregnant, there is no such thing as half control or half victory," Halevi said. "In order to achieve total victory, as the prime minister defines it, we must surround or kill Hamas. And in order to do that, we need to take full control of Hamas’s resources."
Halevi and his fellow lawmakers wrote that Hamas "continues to rule in large parts of the strip," maintains its "civilian control infrastructure and military capacity in key strongholds," and still controls food distribution in parts of Gaza—"under the army’s nose." They called the military’s failure to destroy Hamas’s tunnel network in Rafah an "incomprehensible" strategic failure that is allowing thousands of terrorists to remain underground.
The letter has yet to receive an official response, according to Halevi. Six of the signatories declined public comment, but several, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed frustration that the letter had leaked. Representatives for Netanyahu, Katz, Edelstein, and the military also declined to comment.
Last week, Halevi was removed from the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee after voting against an extension of wartime conscription powers. He said he could not support deploying more soldiers under the war plan, which he said unnecessarily risked their lives and squandered their sacrifices.
Katz later attacked Halevi in an internal Likud chat, comparing him to leftist firebrand Yair Golan, who recently claimed Israeli soldiers were "killing babies as a hobby"—a comment he later walked back. Katz accused Halevi of spreading a "blood libel" against military commanders.
Israeli officials have in recent days characterized Operation Gideon’s Chariots as a major step toward a decisive end to the war. Military officials this week told reporters that Israel plans to take control of 75 percent of Gaza within two months, up from about 40 percent today. They said that in nearly 20 months of fighting in Gaza Israel has destroyed only about 25 percent of the hundreds of miles of tunnels that Hamas has dug underneath Gaza.
According to Israeli intelligence assessments, more than 20,000 Hamas operatives have been killed in the war, including all but three of the senior leaders behind the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel. But Hamas has replenished its ranks with 10,000 to 15,000 new recruits and replaced many of its commanders.
At least 10 Israeli soldiers have been killed and 13 wounded in Gaza so far this month.
In a press conference last week, Netanyahu said that "at the end of this process, all of the Gaza Strip will be under Israeli security control, and Hamas will be completely defeated." He defended the measured pace of the war, saying it was necessary to protect both hostages held in Gaza and Israeli soldiers.
"It won’t take a year and a half," he said of the war. "I promise you that."
Intra-coalition tensions have escalated since Netanyahu agreed to resume humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza earlier this month. Israeli national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir, the head of Otzma Yehudit, called the decision "insanity," saying, "This is not how you defeat Hamas."
Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich defended the aid as a necessary concession to maintain international support, though the letter suggested disagreement within his Religious Zionism party.
A new humanitarian aid distribution mechanism backed by the United States and Israel launched in Gaza on Monday but immediately ran into trouble. One of the new food distribution centers in Rafah was overrun by Gazans, forcing a temporary suspension of operations. Meanwhile, aid continued to flow into Hamas-controlled areas, raising doubts about Israel’s ability to sever ties between Hamas and the civilian population.
Amir Avivi, a former Israeli brigadier general who has advised the government and military on the war, said Israel is in the second phase of a three-phase war plan: systematically conquering and destroying 75 percent of Gaza while relocating the population to a humanitarian zone in Rafah. He said the last 25 percent—where Hamas’s leadership is believed to be concentrated—will be dealt with in the third phase if necessary.
"You might see Hamas collapse before you need to conquer the last meter," Avivi said. "Once you kill the leadership, move the population, and impose a siege—then it’s game over."
Avivi said Netanyahu is committed to the Trump-backed "day after" plan, which envisions Gaza residents voluntarily leaving the territory. But skepticism has grown on the right that Netanyahu intends to "go all the way," as the prime minster vowed last week.
Ran Baratz, a former senior Netanyahu adviser and a teacher at the military’s war colleges, said Israel missed its window to destroy Hamas early in the war. Now, Baratz said, Netanyahu appears to be continuing the war in hopes of improving the terms of an eventual U.S.-imposed ceasefire agreement.
"I think [Netanyahu] is looking for a compensation prize, and he stalls until he gets something that he can show the public," Baratz said. "Best scenario from his perspective: [agreements that cover] Iran’s nuclear program, Saudi normalization, the return of the hostages, and America runs Gaza."
According to Baratz, Israel’s threats to reoccupy Gaza are "something between a bluff and a signal" of commitment.
"You escalate your announcements, and then you do something—not the whole thing, but something," he said. "It’s a negotiation."
Halevi said that despite his concerns, he remains hopeful that Israel’s leaders will choose to win the war—starting with the adoption of a new plan.
"We can win this," he said. "But it has to be serious. The current plan isn’t different from what we had before. It’s not enough."