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Signs of rift within Israel over Gaza

May 13, 2024

Jerusalem, [Israel], May 13: The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued an order to evacuate civilians from the Jabalia refugee area in the northern Gaza Strip due to Hamas rebuilding its forces there, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW, USA) on May 12. . Al-Jazeera and Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that Israeli fighter jets bombed Jabalia with carpet bombs, causing many casualties, although the exact number is unknown.
IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari confirmed that the army is conducting airstrikes against militants in the area, where an estimated 100,000 - 150,000 Palestinians reside.
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi during a security meeting on the weekend is said to have blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for not developing a strategy for managing Gaza after the conflict ends.
According to The Times of Israel , other senior IDF officials and cabinet members also urged political leaders to develop a strategy, warning that Prime Minister Netanyahu's failure to make a decision in the past few weeks is " endangers life".
Mr. Netanyahu is said to have argued with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and head of the Shin Bet intelligence agency Ronen Bar for having private strategic discussions without reporting them. Mr. Netanyahu said that the Shin Bet and Mossad intelligence agencies must report directly to the prime minister, not the defense minister. In response, Minister Gallant said it was his duty to organize strategic discussions at the request of the prime minister. "The problem is that you are not participating in these discussions," Mr. Gallant told Mr. Netanyahu. The Israeli government has not commented on the above information.
US proposal
Rumors of internal turmoil emerged while Israel was evacuating civilians from the city of Rafah in southern Gaza to prepare for a major ground offensive there, despite warnings from the international community and its allies. .
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned that a ground attack on Rafah would be irresponsible and lead to enormous loss of innocent civilian lives. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres yesterday urged Israel and Hamas to stop fighting in Gaza immediately, return hostages and increase the provision of humanitarian aid to trapped civilians. In Tel Aviv City (Israel), tens of thousands of people protested on May 11 to call on the government to find a way to quickly bring the hostages home.
Speaking at a fundraising event the same day in Washington state, US President Joe Biden called on Hamas to accept the hostage release agreement, saying it would immediately lead to a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The White House is said to have also made another proposal to Israel so that the ally would not conduct an offensive campaign in Rafah.
According to The Washington Post , President Biden's administration proposed that if Israel does not attack Rafah, the US will provide valuable intelligence to help identify the hideouts of Hamas leaders and secret tunnels. The parties have not commented on this information.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper