Halevi demanding PM apologize for saying IDF not pressuring Hamas enough — report
Israel TV reports that military chief told Netanyahu to say sorry for remarks, which top officers interpreted as a claim they opposed Rafah op, but no apology has been forthcoming
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi bristled at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a recent meeting and demanded an apology from the premier for saying there was no progress in hostage talks in recent months because the military was not applying enough pressure on Hamas in Gaza, Israeli television reported Tuesday.
Speaking Saturday at a press conference, Netanyahu maintained that it had only been his insistence on operating in Rafah that brought about any progress in negotiations for the release of hostages seized on October 7, after months of Hamas stalling and rejection.
Netanyahu said: “For months there was no progress because the military pressure was not strong enough and I thought that, both for the sake of the hostage deal and for the sake of the victory over Hamas, we must enter Rafah,” he said.
According to Channel 12 news, Halevi expressed his ire at Netanyahu during security deliberations on Sunday, with military officials interpreting the premier’s remarks as a claim that they did not want to operate in Rafah and he therefore pressed them to launch an offensive there.
“These words are serious. I demand that the prime minister apologize,” Halevi was quoted as saying.
The network did not specify what Netanyahu said to Halevi, but reported he has so far not apologized.
The IDF Spokesman’s Office said it does not comment on the content of closed-door meetings, while official sources responded that they were “not aware of such a comment.”
During the press conference, which was scheduled after an IDF strike targeted Hamas’s top military commander Muhammad Deif, Netanyahu praised what he described as his own determination to attack Rafah in the face of opposition from within the government and internationally, insisting his decision had been vindicated by what he said was the softening of Hamas’s stance on hostage negotiations.
“If there is any progress, if there are changes in the [Hamas] position, it is because of the strong military pressure and the strong insistence on our conditions that is what is bringing about the changes. I totally reject these briefs [against me] that I am delaying [a hostage deal], that I am toughening [my stance], that I am stopping a deal. It’s the absolute opposite,” he claimed.
The comments came as political allies of Netanyahu — including his eldest son — have increasingly lashed out at army leaders over the Hamas-led October 7 terror onslaught that started the war in Gaza, which the prime minister has refused to say explicitly he is responsible for unlike many Israeli security and military officials and some political figures.
The premier has also declined to initiate a state commission of inquiry into Israel’s failures leading up to the massacre, arguing that doing so would harm the war effort and should only commence after the fighting ends, and not explicitly committing to a state commission as opposed to a less powerful inquiry body.
