Former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot called for a return to combat operations in the Gaza Strip and the dismantling of Hamas’s military capabilities, stating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had failed to manage the country during the Israel-Hamas War in an interview with Kan Reshet Bet on Tuesday.
“Two years and a quarter after the start of the war, the military achievements were not translated into a diplomatic outcome,” he said.
“What is required of a responsible prime minister is to insist on dismantling Hamas’s military power, to condition Gaza’s rehabilitation on demilitarization, and to retain the security responsibility,” Eisenkot said, adding that the government’s stated goal of destroying Hamas’s governing and military capacity “has not been achieved.”
Eisenkot’s remarks came days after the announcement of US President Donald Trump’s Executive Board for the Board of Peace, which includes Turkish and Qatari representation that Israel firmly opposes.
Israeli officials have stated that the inclusion of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan as a central figure would cross a red line, and noted that Ankara is not viewed in Jerusalem as neutral or legitimate for Gaza’s management because of political and ideological ties with Hamas.
Eisenkot: Bringing Turkey, Qatar into Gaza arrangements would be 'serious mistake'
Eisenkot said bringing Turkey and Qatar into Gaza arrangements would be a “serious mistake,” citing Turkish influence in Syria and the abandonment of the Kurds. He warned Israel could face Turkish involvement along Israel’s northern border if it does not oppose the move.
Responding to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s comment that “Gaza is ours,” Eisenkot said Netanyahu had promised “total victory,” but since that goal has not been reached, “Israel is forced to transfer completion of the move to the Americans and international actors.”
Smotrich recently attacked US-led frameworks for Gaza and urged Israel to impose military rule in the Strip, a position he has expressed before.
Eisenkot said Netanyahu “did not want to set a strategic plan and did not want to discuss the day after.”
The debate over who holds authority in Gaza has intensified around the US-backed Board of Peace concept and related coordination mechanisms.
Netanyahu recently told prospective director Nickolay Mladenov that Hamas must be disarmed and Gaza demilitarized in line with Washington’s plan, even as elements of that plan, including possible roles for Turkey and Qatar, have drawn fire from within Israel’s coalition.
Yehuda Schlezinger contributed to this report.