Israel’s military chief has advised cabinet ministers against ordering the Israel Defense Forces to expand operations in the Gaza Strip, over fears that doing so could significantly endanger the lives of hostages still held in the Palestinian enclave, according to Hebrew media accounts Monday.

Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir reportedly made the comments to ministers Sunday night during discussions over efforts to reach a deal with Hamas for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Gaza Strip. He also expressed fears that hostages were being subjected to intensifying torture, outlets including Channel 13, Channel 12, and Haaretz said.

“There is serious abuse of the hostages and their situation is grave,” Zamir said, according to the reports, which cited sources with knowledge of his comments.

Fifty hostages remain in Gaza, of whom some 20 are thought to still be alive.

“I am in favor of defeating Hamas,” Zamir said, “But the more we deepen the operation now, the more we endanger the hostages.”

Zamir’s comments were reportedly met with harsh criticism from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is vehemently opposed to a deal with Hamas.

“You can do both – defeat Hamas and return the hostages,” the far-right Smotrich reportedly rebutted. “You are paving a decision for the political echelon.”

On Monday, Smotrich said there would be “no greater danger” to Israel than to give in to calls for a ceasefire deal in order to free the hostages. In remarks to reporters at the Knesset, he urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue a “sharp and swift war that will destroy the enemy in Gaza and remove the threat it poses to Israel for many years to come.”

Government critics have said Israel’s campaign in Gaza has stalled, with a rising death toll both among soldiers and Palestinian civilians but hardly any military gain, and argue that little more can be gained without a diplomatic solution that will bring the war to an end and defang what is left of Hamas.

Responding to the media reports, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the main organization representing hostages and their relatives, said in a statement that Zamir “raised a black flag before the political leadership. The blood and suffering of the hostages cry out from the ground.”

“No minister can claim that they didn’t know the implications of continuing endless and pointless fighting in Gaza,” it said. “The hostages are in critical condition — those in immediate life-threatening danger, and those in danger of being lost forever.

“Anyone who refuses to heed the chief of staff’s warning is adding insult to injury,” the statement said.

The Sunday meeting ended without a decision, and a second meeting on Monday afternoon also failed to reach a verdict on how to proceed.

According to Channel 12, ministers are facing a choice among three options: conquering all of Gaza, reaching a ceasefire that ends the war and frees the hostages, or pushing the civilian population into southern Gaza while attacking Hamas fighters remaining in the north.

At the Monday meeting, Channel 12 reported that ministers complained to Zamir that he had assured them in the past that Israel could move masses of Palestinians from the north of the enclave to the south, then apply siege-like conditions in the north along with a swift military campaign to defeat Hamas forces there.

Zamir was said to respond that the danger posed to hostages in the area complicated the matter.

Pushing back, the army chief also protested to ministers over their dallying in deciding on how to proceed.

“It is not right to continue the existing situation without a decision,” he said, according to Channel 12.

Last week, Zamir said the IDF was close to reaching the lines in Gaza defined by the government, which would see the military hold control over 75 percent of the territory.

By declaring that the military was in sight of achieving its goals, analysts said Zamir was signaling to the government the need to decide whether to move forward with a deal or prepare for the IDF to establish military rule in the Strip.

So far, 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. But after nearly 21 months of war, many Israelis doubt much more can be gained through military means.

Amid intensifying efforts by the Trump administration to end the war, Netanyahu will fly to Washington early next week, a White House official confirmed to The Times of Israel Monday night.

There was no confirmation from the Prime Minister’s Office regarding the timing for the visit, which was first reported by Axios, and is said to be scheduled for July 7.

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is currently in Washington for meetings with US officials, where he is facing increased pressure to bring about an end to the war in the Palestinian enclave.

However, Israel and the Hamas terror group remain far apart, as the two sides have held to their positions in negotiations with mediators. Remaining sticking points between the sides include Hamas’s demand for a permanent end to the war, as opposed to Israel’s efforts to secure a temporary ceasefire that leaves open the option for it to resume fighting.