This is the final announcement: Israel will occupy the entire Gaza StripThe news arrives in prime time, when the country is glued to the news. A high-level source in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office leaks the line: "The truce is over. Hamas will not release any more hostages without a full surrender, and we will not surrender.".
It is not an official statement, but the the leak is clearly manipulated, part of a plan aimed at preparing the public for a new, bloody chapter in the war. The plan also includes incursions into densely populated areas where Israeli hostages are believed to be held, such as Deir al-Balah.
I three objectives reiterated by Netanyahu They are the same as always, but the price – military, political, human – risks being very high: “Defeat Hamas, free the hostages and prevent Gaza from being a threat again”.
Trump approves the operation. And Bibi calls Putin.
Backing Netanyahu is his ironclad ally: Donald Trump. According to the newspaper Ynet, the American president has given the green light to a vast operation against Hamas. After the failure of the Doha negotiations, Washington and Jerusalem agreed that "there is no more room for diplomacy."
The stalemate is totalHamas demands the release of those detained for the October 7 attack. Israel demands total disarmament and a military presence in some areas of the Strip. No openness, no mediation.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu continues to build relationships with international actors. In a few days spoke twice with Vladimir PutinThe contents of the conversations remain confidential, but the timing has not gone unnoticed, with the Israeli prime minister seeking support everywhere, while the international community is increasingly critical of the situation in Gaza.
The Army is at its limits. The Chief of Staff rebels.
But war, on the field, has another face. The army is tired, exhausted, worn out by months of fightingThe Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir warned the cabinet, “the complete cleanup of the Strip will take years and risks killing the hostages as well.”
Bibi's response was curt, “if he doesn't agree, he should resign”. And so a few minutes later, here is Zamir's counter-response which he has the cancellation of the state of "war emergency" has been announced, activated after October 7, explaining that the battalions are exhausted.
After nearly two years of war, with up to 12 recalls for each reservist, the soldiers are at the limit of their physical and psychological endurance. And many generals see no "victory" on the horizon.
Cabinet split. The far right wants all-out war.
In the Israeli security cabinet the fractures are deep. extremist wing, led by ministers Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben Gvir and Ron Dermer, pushes for full employment of the Strip. For them, war is not just a means but an ideological project.
To oppose, a cross-section of the security apparatus from Mossad chief David Barnea to Shin Bet chief, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, and General Nitzan Alon. All are warning of humanitarian and military risks. Also because 80% of Israelis, according to polls, want an end to the war, while sharing the goal of dismantling Hamas.
In the midst of this chaos, Netanyahu is also tightening his fist on the domestic frontThe government voted for the removal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, at odds with the prime minister and implicated in the investigation into bribes from Qatar. But the Supreme Court suspended the decision. But that's not all. Bibi also the president of the Foreign Affairs Committee was ousted, guilty of opposing the law exempting ultra-Orthodox from military service. A move that fuels accusations of authoritarianism and heightens tensions in the country.
Former Mossad, Shin Bet, and IDF chiefs: "Hamas is no longer a strategic threat."
The opposition does not only come from within the active army. In a video released online, Dozens of former Israeli security officials – including former heads of the Mossad, the Shin Bet and the armed forces – have publicly called for an end to the war. In all, 600 former officials they signed a letter addressed to Donald Trump, asking him to put pressure on Netanyahu to stop the offensive and bring the hostages home.
"Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel", they write. The military and government components of the organization – they say – have already been neutralized. The third and most important objective of the war, namely the release of the hostages, "can only be achieved through an agreement."
Harsh words also from Einav Zangauker, mother of a young hostage, another strong opponent of the continuation of the war: "The government has chosen the 'final solution.' Instead of saving them, they are condemning them to death."
Meanwhile, famine is spreading in Gaza
While diplomacy falters and politics quarrels, the situation in Gaza is out of control. United Nations agencies they speak of a famine already underway. Those who do not die under the bombs, risk starveIsrael promises the entry of humanitarian aid but meanwhile only in July, according to the WHO, 63 people died from malnutrition, including 24 children under five years old.And the worst, UN agencies warn, is yet to come. According to the IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification), in September over 14.000 people will suffer from severe acute malnutrition.
Netanyahu insists on war. But outside Gaza, it's already a humanitarian catastrophe.
