Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Friday that the military’s latest offensive in Gaza will soon “reach the lines” defined by the government, which would see the military assert control over 75% of the territory.
Speaking on a visit to the Gaza Strip with senior officers, Zamir said Israel’s 12-day war with Iran, which ended with a US-brokered ceasefire on Tuesday, “will advance our goals in Gaza.”
Iran has been one of Hamas’s main backers, and Israel believes that by weakening Hamas’s patrons, the terror group could be more likely to agree to concessions.
“Iran took a heavy blow. There is potential that the blow caused to Iran will advance our goals in Gaza,” said Zamir.
“In the near future, we will reach the lines we defined for the current phase within the framework of Gideon’s Chariots,” he added, referring to the IDF’s current offensive against Hamas, which was launched in mid-May.
By declaring that the military was in sight of achieving its goals, analysts said that Zamir was signaling to the government the need to decide whether to move forward with a hostage-ceasefire deal or prepare for the IDF to establish military rule in the Strip.
“From there, operational options will develop that will be presented to the political echelon,” said Zamir, adding that the IDF “will continue to act with determination to achieve the two objectives of the campaign, the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”
Zamir had met with Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, Ground Forces chief Maj. Gen. Nadav Lotan, the commander of the 99th Division, Brig. Gen. Yoav Brunner, and other officers in Gaza.
Channel 12 reported that Zamir would put the choice to the cabinet on Sunday.
So far, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to entertain an option that would bring about an end to the Gaza war, saying that Israel would carry on until it destroyed Hamas.
Channel 12 military analyst Nir Dvori said Zamir’s trip to the Gaza Strip was meant to signal to the political echelon following the war with Iran that the focus was now back on Gaza.
Dvori added that Zamir had recently canceled plans for an emergency draft of a brigade of reservists. The analyst said this was a hint to the political echelon that troops were exhausted after 20 months of war.
Channel 12’s political analysts said that there were indications that Netanyahu may be ready for the first time to consider ending the Gaza war.
It comes amid reports in recent days that US President Donald Trump was pushing Netanyahu to conclude the 20-month-old war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip following the success of the 12-day war against Iran and the two were working on a plan that would also see new countries join the Abraham Accords, and Israel would be required to commit to supporting a future Palestinian state.
As such, Netanyahu would finally be ready to jettison his far-right coalition partners and head to new elections on the basis of his victory against Iran and his diplomatic achievements, the report said.
Speaking to reporters Friday, Trump speculated a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal would be reached “within the next week,” saying he spoke with some of the individuals involved in trying to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Also on Friday, the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported that former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar had consistently pushed for an end to the war in Gaza through a comprehensive hostage deal with Hamas.
Bar’s position, which he made clear to Netanyahu and the political echelon, was that Israel would gain little from the continuation of the war, according to the report. Hamas will always be in Gaza, he argued, as long as Palestinians are.
He argued for a comprehensive deal to release all the hostages, and a policy of striking Hamas every time they violate the conditions of the ceasefire.
To date, Netanyahu and his cabinet have rejected that approach, aiming for a staged deal that would see the war end only if Hamas disarms and its leaders go into exile.
Bar stepped down earlier this month after a public and increasingly bitter campaign by Netanyahu to oust him.
The IDF’s operational plans for Gideon’s Chariots, which were seen by The Times of Israel, had indicated that it would take two months to capture 75% of Gaza. At the start of the operation, the IDF held about 40% of the Strip.
The captured territory was set to include all of Rafah, Khan Younis, and the towns north of Gaza City.
Along with the capture and retention of territory, the operation aimed to attack Hamas, prevent the terror group from hijacking aid deliveries and move Palestinian civilian populations toward the south of the Strip, according to Israeli officials.
As part of the operation, the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation began handing out aid in four sites. The agency has faced criticism for the mass-casualty incidents frequently reported near its sites.
Israel halted the delivery of aid to Gaza on March 2, hours after the collapse of the last ceasefire-hostage deal with Hamas, and resumed hostilities there on March 18, more than 17 months after the war was sparked by the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.