The Israeli cabinet’s decision to escalate its war on Gaza, disregarding the humanitarian crises it has caused there already, appears to have angered as many in Israel as in the international community, though not necessarily for the same reasons.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to backtrack on his idea of seizing all of Gaza after pushback from a military widely regarded as being exhausted.
Under the new “plan”, Israel will seize Gaza City and, according to an anonymous Israeli official talking to the Associated Press, Gaza’s “central camps” as well as al-Mawasi in the south.
Defending his new idea on Sunday, Netanyahu told journalists that Israel had “no choice” but to “finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas”.
Israel has spent 22 months killing 61,722 people and destroying nearly all of Gaza, ostensibly for that very purpose.
Many in Israel, including the families of the remaining captives held in Gaza, object to the escalation. So why is Netanyahu doing it, and how has this landed in Israel? Here’s what we know.
Why does Netanyahu want to do this?
It’s not clear.
Many in the international community, from the European Union to the United Nations, have condemned the idea. Even many of Israel’s formerly stalwart allies, like Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, have condemned it.
In Israel, many suspect Netanyahu’s move aims to shore up his support among the far-right elements that his coalition needs to stay in power, and to drag out a war he feels his political survival depends on.
Do many on the far right support Netanyahu’s plan?
Not as many as he’d hoped.
While hard-right ministers like ultra-nationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir still support Netanyahu’s coalition, their loyalty seems conditional.
Both had been among a cohort of hard-right politicians who had objected to the suggestion that humanitarian aid be allowed into the enclave in May, following worldwide outrage over starvation there, before falling into line with government policy and Smotrich even diverting extra funds for aid earlier this month.
Both ministers, and their sizeable constituencies, want a full Israeli seizure of all of Gaza, the “razing” of Gaza City, and what they describe as the “voluntary” migration of Gaza’s population, once the territory has been rendered uninhabitable.
On Saturday, Smotrich released a video criticising Netanyahu’s plans to limit the invasion to Gaza City, saying he had “lost faith” in Netanyahu’s leadership. He later clarified that he would remain in government nonetheless.
Does the security establishment fully support Netanyahu’s plan?
No.
Israeli media reports that Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and several senior Israeli officers oppose the plan.
According to leaked reports, Zamir told Netanyahu he was creating a “trap” that would further erode the army and endanger the lives of the remaining captives.
Earlier in the same week, more than 600 former Israeli security officials wrote to US President Donald Trump to implore him to use his influence over Netanyahu to bring the war to a close.
“Everything that could be achieved by force has been achieved. The hostages cannot wait any longer,” the Commanders for Israel’s Security (CIS) group said in a post on X, where it shared the letter.
Does the Israeli public fully support Netanyahu’s plan?
No.
Tens of thousands of people, including many of the captives’ families, have taken to the streets to protest against the decision to escalate the war.
In mid-July, a poll carried out by the Israeli Democracy Institute found 74 percent of Israelis supported a negotiated end to the war that would see the return of the roughly 50 captives remaining in Gaza.
Among them were 60 percent who had previously voted for the prime minister’s coalition.
How has society responded?
Loudly.
Groups representing the families of the captives and those of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza are calling for a general strike on August 17.
Many in Israel’s vital tech industry, as well as universities and local authorities, have responded positively.
“The goal”, one of the groups organising the action explained, is “to save the lives of the hostages and soldiers, and prevent further families from joining the bereaved”.
How has the political opposition responded to Netanyahu’s plan?
They almost universally oppose it.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid – who has backed the government through much of its war on Gaza – declared the latest escalation a “disaster that will lead to many more disasters”.
Another opposition figure, Benny Gantz, who served in the government throughout some of its fiercest attacks upon Gaza during the early stages of the war, also condemned the escalation. In a post on X, Gantz characterised the escalation as a “political failure that wastes the tremendous achievements of the [Israeli army]”.
מה כן לעשות כדי להחזיר את החטופים ולנצח?
אני רואה שוב את המחדל המדיני שמבזבז את ההישגים האדירים של צה”ל.
שוב מחכים.
שוב מנהלים משא ומתן בשלבים.
בלי שום יצירתיות.אפשר אחרת:
קודם כל להודיע – בתמורה להשבת החטופים נהיה מוכנים להפסקת אש קבועה – עד החטוף האחרון.
כל עוד זה לא מתקבל:…— בני גנץ – Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) August 8, 2025
Are Israelis more aware of what their country is doing to Palestinians?
Not really.
A poll by the Israeli Democracy Institute in July showed that, despite widespread coverage, a majority of Israelis described themselves as “not at all troubled” by “reports of famine and suffering among the Palestinian population in Gaza”.
An estimated 227 people have died of starvation as a result of the Israeli siege on Gaza that began in March. A total of 103 of them have been children.