Netanyahu’s Gaza War Plan Shows Lack of ‘Serious Intent’ To Defeat Hamas, Say Coalition Lawmakers– freebeacon.com

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TEL AVIV—Seven lawmakers from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition say the latest Gaza war plan does “not reflect a serious intent to defeat Hamas and achieve victory,” according to a letter obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

In the two-page letter, sent to senior Israeli officials on May 5 and not previously reported, the lawmakers called for “a basic change in the military’s operational plan” in the Gaza Strip, warning that the current strategy is “flawed in conception, disconnected from the real capabilities of the enemy, and based on assumptions that will cost many lives before achieving questionable results.” “Only through total defeat of Hamas can we restore deterrence and win the war,” the lawmakers added.

Amit Halevi, Ariel Kallner, and Hanoch Milwidsky of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, Ohad Tal and Michael Woldiger of Religious Zionism, and Limor Son Har-Melech Otzma Yehudit addressed the letter to military chief of staff Eyal Zamir and copied Netanyahu, defense minister Israel Katz, and Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein.

The letter—sent just hours before Israel’s security cabinet approved Operation Gideon’s Chariots, the recently launched phase of the military campaign in Gaza—is a signal of growing internal skepticism about government and military leaders’ commitment to wrest control of Gaza from Hamas. At the same time, the leadership faces mounting domestic and international pressure to end the war.