‘Abandon fantasies’ – Zamir warns Netanyahu over shortage of soldiers in Gaza
Illustrative photo of Israeli soldiers operating in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, 28 November 2024
The Palestine Chronicle reports, following Ynet News, reports on 15 April 2025:
The Israeli army’s new Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, has reportedly warned the government that a shortage of soldiers could limit Tel Aviv’s war ambitions in the Gaza Strip, according to the Israeli Ynet news website.
Zamir told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet that “military-only strategies cannot fulfill all national objectives in Gaza, particularly in the absence of a complementary diplomatic track,” the report said on Monday.
It said Zamir’s warning reflects “a growing disconnect between the military’s operational capacity and the government’s broader political aspirations.”
This comes as the army carries out limited ground operations “under a scaled-down plan called ‘Mini Oranim’, which includes the expansion of a buffer zone near the Gaza border.
‘Reluctance’ over Past Failures
The report quoted a senior defense official as saying that “Zamir is not sugarcoating the facts.” “He’s telling the leadership to abandon some of their fantasies,” the official reportedly added.
Zamir’s remarks underscore the army’s “reluctance to repeat what officials describe as past failures,” it noted. The report further pointed out that 18 months into the onslaught on Gaza, Hamas “continues to control most of the Gaza Strip” and, while rebuilding, “still has approximately 20,000 fighters” according to Israeli intelligence.
It also cites a recent speech by Zamir in which he “acknowledged that Hamas has not been defeated.”
The report noted that a full reoccupation of Gaza “could take many months, possibly years, and would require the reactivation of tens of thousands of reservists.”
Reservist Numbers
Currently, the rate of reservist participation stands “at 60% to 70%”, according to the Israeli army.
It further quoted the defense official as saying there was “concern those numbers won’t improve in the event of a broader offensive.”