Disagreements appear to be emerging between Israel’s political and military leadership over the conduct of the Gaza war

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli army’s chief spokesman on Wednesday seemed to reject the declared goal of destroying the Militant Hamas group in the Gaza Strip in a rare public dispute between the country’s political and military leadership.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stressed that Israel will continue the fight against Hamas, the group that controls the besieged Gaza Strip, until its military and governing capabilities in the Palestinian territory are eliminated. War now in its ninth monthFrustration is growing and there is no clear end or post-war plan in sight.

“This talk of destroying Hamas, of making it disappear – this is simply pulling the wool over the eyes of the public,” military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told Israeli television station Channel 13. “Hamas is an idea, Hamas is a party. It is rooted in the hearts of the people – anyone who thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong.”

Netanyahu’s office responded that the Israeli security cabinet, chaired by the prime minister, had “defined the destruction of Hamas’ military and government capabilities as one of the war’s aims. The Israeli military is, of course, committed to this goal.”

The military quickly issued a clarification: It was “determined to achieve the war aims defined by the Cabinet” and had “worked day and night throughout the war to achieve them and would continue to do so.”

Hagari’s comments, it said, “were about the destruction of Hamas as an ideology and idea, and he said that very clearly and unambiguously,” the military statement continued. “Any other claim takes things out of context.”

There were already open signs of discontent with the handling of the war by Netanyahu’s government, a coalition that includes right-wing hardliners who reject any kind of settlement with Hamas. Months of internationally brokered ceasefire talks, including a proposal floated by President Joe Biden this month, have stalled.

Benny Gantz, a former military chief and centrist politician, withdrew from Netanyahu’s war cabinet Earlier this month, he expressed his frustration with the prime minister’s conduct of the war.

And earlier this week, Netanyahu expressed displeasure at the army’s decision to impose a “tactical pause” in the southern Gaza city of Rafah to allow humanitarian aid to enter the besieged area. An aide said Netanyahu was surprised by the announcement, and Israeli television stations quoted him as saying: “We have a country with an army, not an army with a country.”

Israel attacked Gaza in response to Hamas. Cross-border attack on southern Israel on October 7in which about 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.

Israel’s war effort initially enjoyed broad public support, but in recent months major differences of opinion have emerged. While Netanyahu has promised “total victory,” a growing number of critics and protesters support a ceasefire that would about 120 hostages still in GazaThe Israeli military has already declared more than 40 of them dead and officials fear that this number will rise the longer the hostages are held.

Inside the Gaza Strip, more than 37,100 Palestinians have been killed by the war, according to the Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The war has largely disrupted the supply of medicine, food and other aid to Palestinians. faced with widespread hunger.

The United Nations said on Wednesday that its humanitarian workers were again unable to collect aid supplies from Israel at the Kerem Shalom border crossing due to a lack of security and order.

Deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq said that while there had been no clashes along the route Israel declared a daily pause in fightingLawlessness in the region has prevented UN workers from collecting aid, meaning that not a single truck has been able to use the new route since Israel imposed a daily closure on Sunday.

In recent weeks, the Israeli military has concentrated its offensive on the nearby town Rafah is located on the border with Egypt And where the last remnants of Hamas are said to be holding out.

More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents had previously sought shelter in Rafah to escape fighting elsewhere in the territory. Now the city is almost empty as the Israeli military carries out air strikes and ground operations.

The Israeli military says it has killed more than 500 militants and inflicted heavy damage on Hamas forces, but officials expect the operation to continue for at least several more weeks.

Israel has also taken over a 14-kilometer corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, including the Rafah crossing. Footage circulating on social media shows the crossing blacked out and destroyed, with only the former passenger terminal still intact. Before Israel entered the area, the crossing was used to deliver humanitarian aid and allow Palestinians to leave the area.

Ahmed al-Sufi, mayor of Rafah, said on Wednesday that the Israeli attacks had destroyed more than 70 percent of the facilities and infrastructure. He accused the Israeli forces of systematically attacking camps in Rafah, adding that in one district entire residential areas had been destroyed. Al-Sufi did not immediately respond to a request for further information.

In another incident, an Israeli airstrike in Rafah killed 11 people, said Dr. Saleh al-Hamas of the nearby European Hospital. No further details were available and the Israeli military did not immediately comment.

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Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press journalists Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip; Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel; and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.