Israel's military leaders signal their work in Gaza and Lebanon is complete. Will Netanyahu listen?

Jerusalem
CNN
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In subtle but increasingly vocal ways, Israeli military leaders are signaling that the country has achieved all it can militarily in Lebanon and Gaza and that it is time for politicians to reach an agreement.

Lebanon's prime minister says a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel could be imminent. Both US presidential candidates have also made it clear that they do not want wars in Gaza and Lebanon to be on the agenda when they take office.

As the Israel Defense Forces' top general sat down with officers in the northern Gaza Strip – which is conducting one of the most intense military operations since last year's invasion – he went further than ever before, suggesting that the military phases of both conflicts should end.

“There is a possibility of a sharp conclusion in the north,” said Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi, referring to the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. In Gaza, he said: “If we take out the brigade commander in northern Gaza, it will be another collapse…” I don't know what awaits us tomorrow, but this pressure brings us closer to further successes.

What these achievements were supposed to be is the subject of great consternation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly promised an “absolute victory.” His defense minister and long-time political tormentor Yoav Gallant is reluctant to achieve this goal. In August, he told a closed-door parliamentary committee meeting that the idea of ​​an “absolute victory” in Gaza was “nonsense,” according to Israeli media.

Gallant's dark opinion of Netanyahu's war aim became official when he reportedly sent a private memo to the prime minister and the rest of his cabinet earlier this week saying the war had gone astray.

“The current situation, in which we operate without a valid compass and without updated war goals, undermines the administration of the election campaign and the decisions of the Cabinet,” Gallant wrote, according to Israeli broadcaster Channel 13, a CNN affiliate.

In Gaza, he wrote, Israel should ensure the release of the remaining hostages, ensure there is no military threat from Hamas and promote civilian rule. This is a far cry from the existing maximalist war goal of eliminating Hamas's military and administrative capabilities.

CNN reached out to Israel's Defense Ministry for comment on the memo. A spokesman for the prime minister declined to comment.

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Wednesday he was optimistic that a possible ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel could be concluded “within the next few hours or days” after speaking with US envoy Amos Hochstein on Thursday arrived in the region.

Israel carried out a massive, nationwide bombing campaign in Lebanon last month, killing Hezbollah's elusive leader Hassan Nasrallah. In his interview, Mikati noted that Hezbollah no longer insists that its conflict with Israel will only end when the war in Gaza ends. That would allow it to accept a ceasefire without ending the Gaza campaign.

“Right now there is a desire to end the war in Lebanon while we are ahead,” a person familiar with the Israeli government's thinking told CNN.

Gallant said Hamas and Hezbollah have become completely ineffective as Iranian proxies.

“These two organizations, Hamas and Hezbollah, which were nurtured for years as a long arm against the State of Israel, are no longer an effective tool in the hands of Iran,” Gallant said during a memorial service on Sunday. “We know that some objectives cannot be achieved through military action alone, and therefore we must fulfill our moral obligation to bring our prisoners home, despite the painful compromises that entails.”

And yet Netanyahu has remained defiant. As the Knesset, Israel's parliament, returned from recess this week, the prime minister appeared to reiterate his maximalist goal and suggested he was unlikely to accept a conclusion any time soon: “Absolute victory is an orderly and consistent work plan that we Fulfill it step by step. “Step by step,” he said.

Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas are holding indirect negotiations in Qatar for the first time in two months. Netanyahu's office said Monday that the prime minister would “immediately accept if a limited proposal – a short ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages” was offered. However, a source familiar with the talks told CNN that Netanyahu continues to refuse to give concrete assurances on a path to a larger agreement to end the war.

“The most important objective of the war was not achieved, which was to bring the hostages home,” another official familiar with the talks told CNN. “Gaza will not end until the hostages are home.”