Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was critical of plans announced Sunday by his army to impose 11-hour breaks in fighting along a main road to Gaza to ease the delivery of aid to the bomb-hit area.
Reuters reported that the Israeli army announced daily breaks in the fighting from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time between Kerem Shalom Crossing and Salah al-Din Road, then north.
“When the prime minister heard reports of an 11-hour humanitarian pause in the morning, he turned to his military secretary and made it clear that this was unacceptable to him,” an Israeli official said.
While fighting in the demarcated area was expected to pause, the army made clear that it would continue normal operations in Rafah, which is the main focus of its campaign in southern Gaza.
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Netanyahu’s response highlights heightened political tensions over aid being delivered to Gaza, where international groups have warned of a growing humanitarian crisis.
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National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who heads one of the nationalist religious parties in Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, denounced the idea of a tactical pause, saying whoever decided it was a “fool” who should lose his job .
The dispute is just the latest dispute between members of Netanyahu’s coalition and the military over the handling of the war between Israel and Hamas, which has been going on for nine months.
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Last Sunday, Minister of the Israeli War Cabinet Bennie Gantz quit Netanyahu’s emergency government, saying the prime minister “made total victory impossible.”
Announcing his resignation on Sunday, Gantz said the government must put the return of the hostages seized by Hamas on October 7 “above political survival.”
“Months after the October disaster, the situation in the country and in the decision-making cabinet has changed. Netanyahu and his partners have turned unity into an empty call that has no coverage. Fateful strategic decisions are met with hesitation and delay due to political considerations,” Gantz said. “Netanyahu is preventing us from moving on to a real victory. That is why we are leaving the emergency government today with pain in our hearts, but with all our hearts.”
“Months after the October disaster, the situation in the country and in the decision-making cabinet has changed,” Gantz added. “Netanyahu and his partners have turned unity into an empty call that has no coverage. Fateful strategic decisions are met with hesitation and delay due to political considerations.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called Gantz’s decision important and fair, arguing that it was time to replace Netanyahu’s government with one that will lead to the restoration of security, release of hostages and restoration of economic and international status of Israel.
Bradford Betz of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
Original article source: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu criticizes military plans for an eleven-hour daily break in fighting
