Israeli security cabinet split as IDF chief urges vote on hostage deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presided over a six-hour, closed-door security cabinet session overnight that exposed a sharp split among senior officials over a looming invasion of Gaza City and a proposed hostage exchange, according to Israeli media reports.

Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir pressed Netanyahu to put a cease-fire and hostage-exchange proposal to a vote, warning that an assault on Gaza City would endanger the lives of Israeli troops and the remaining hostages held by Hamas. Media reports said Zamir has repeatedly cautioned that urban operations in Gaza City would carry a high human cost for soldiers and could jeopardize the safety of hostages.

The deal on the table, as described in reports, would free roughly half of the living hostages and could set conditions for a more lasting end to the fighting. Netanyahu rejected calls to vote on that proposal, according to those accounts, reiterating his position that a large-scale military operation is the only reliable means to free the captives and dismantle Hamas’s capabilities.

Government sources and Israeli media said the debate was intense and prolonged, reflecting deep differences between civilian leaders and military commanders over strategy and risks. The session was held amid international attention on the humanitarian and security implications of an expanded ground offensive in Gaza.

Zamir’s public and private objections to a Gaza City takeover have been reported for weeks. Military leaders have emphasized the complexities of urban warfare, including difficulties in distinguishing combatants from civilians and the heightened risk posed to small infantry units operating in dense built-up areas. Officials who favor a military operation say it is necessary to eliminate Hamas’s remaining command structures and secure hostages held in the enclave.

Israeli officials have not released an official transcript of the meeting. Reporting on the session cited unnamed participants and local news outlets, which said ministers and commanders argued over timing, force levels and the potential terms of any temporary cease-fire or hostage exchange.

Humanitarian groups and some foreign governments have called for measures to protect civilians in Gaza and for intensified diplomatic efforts to secure hostage releases. Israeli leaders have faced pressure to balance military objectives with those international concerns as the campaign continues.

The differing views within the cabinet come as Gaza City is widely described in Israeli and international reporting as one of Hamas’s last remaining strongholds. Any decision to launch a major ground assault there would represent a significant escalation in the campaign that began earlier this year and would have immediate operational and diplomatic consequences.

Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Times of Israel and other local outlets reported on the content of the meeting, and international news organizations have relayed the accounts provided by Israeli sources. The debate underscores the fraught choices facing Israel’s political and military leadership as they weigh options to recover hostages and conclude the conflict.