Eyal Zamir Archives - Page 2 of 4

Worst Day For The Israeli Army. Why?

CrossFireArabia
August 30, 2025

By Dr Marwan Asmar

As the Israeli army attempts to enter and control Gaza City, it is receiving constant and horrendous shocks from the Palestinian resistance groups after 23 months of fighting. It is sobering for Israeli soldiers as four simultaneous ambushes were carried out against in an area of eight kilometers supposedly flattened by American-supplied mass bombs.

The latest carried Tuesday night by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters is sending shockwaves in Israel and among its army because of the intensity of the clashes and firepower where it is reported that Israeli tanks and armed carriers were blown up in face-to-face fighting with machine guns and other explosives.

The toll is still being counted but Hamas are promising this is just the beginning.

On the Israeli side at least one soldier was killed, 11 others injured and four soldiers missing. They are feared to be taken hostages by Hamas although the Israeli army wouldn’t confirm this with latest reports that them may have reestablished contact. But this is yet to be verified.

Many media outlets, primarily Israeli, are speculating the Israeli army may have activated its Hannibal Directive and killed at least one its soldier rather than allowing him to be taken alive by resistance fighters.

The latest clashes, carried out in Al Zaytun and Sabra neighborhoods, on the southern outskirts of Gaza City is being described by the Israeli media as another 7 October when 1200 Israelis were killed and 250 hostages were taken by Hamas fighters back to Gaza City.

This description is setting additional shockwaves among Israeli society and fear that the remaining hostages in Gaza, dubbed at least 20 will not come out alive, nor the 30 killed will not be handed back.

The latest ambushes are suggesting as well Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups are still in their top fighting form despite the repeated utterings by Israeli Prime Minister that his army is “cleaning up” the areas of Gaza from these fighters and in spite of the fact that most of the enclave has been turned into rubble with more than 63,000 killed by the Israeli war machine.

While Israel controls 75 percent of the Israeli army, they are yet to enter Gaza City. The latest incursion into the Al Zaytun neighborhood is number seven. Their previous incursions, totaling six have ended in failure. As a result of the latest ambushes, Israeli soldiers have withdrew yet again further south to the Natzarim Crossing which they now control and effectively split Gaza into two halves.

The Battle for Gaza City is still in its early stages however and Israel is in for more surprises. The Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir who is already deeply dismayed about attempting to control Gaza City because of insurmountable logistical reasons and powerful armed Palestinian groups, is sure to be greatly worried from the latest ambushes.

He has already warned the Netanyahu that Israel could lose 100 soldiers in the battle which is yet to start to control Gaza City and prefers a political solution. But this is not in the offing or an option for the political leaders who insist that the military plod on regardless of their safety and security.

By western estimations, the Palestinian resistance groups – mainly Hamas and Islamic Jihad – continue to have anything between 25,0000 to 50,0000 fighters and will likely maintain their maintain their momentum and keep emerging from underground tunnels. Experts have said this is indeed a miracle for many of these tunnels, including the one under Al Zaytun, are still intact and continue to replenish the resistance.

At the moment many of the Palestinian fighters, including from leftist factions like the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine have relocated and the Zaytun Battalion has rebuilt itself which the Israeli army claimed it destroyed in the previous 22 months. The scorching ambushes that occurred recently, and whose Israel is keeping a tight censorship lip about the actual number of its deaths and injured, are just the beginning and there is likely to be more in the coming days.

Zamir is well aware of the tough fight that lies ahead and that is why his is claiming to be following a strategy of moving slowly and “surely”. But judging from the latest fight this strategy is failing before it gets off-the-ground as the decision to enter the formidable was taken two weeks ago.

News

Gaza City: At What Cost Occupation?

CrossFireArabia
August 18, 2025

Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir officially approved a plan on Sunday to occupy Gaza City, local media reported.

Defense Minister Israel Katz is scheduled to formally approve the plan next Tuesday, according to Israel’s official broadcaster, Kan.

The Security and Political Cabinet will meet later this week to approve the plan, Kan said, adding that Nitzan Alon, the army’s official in charge of prisoners and hostages, took part in the discussions that led to the decision.

The plan includes a broad forced evacuation of Palestinians over at least two weeks, beginning with a military operation followed by a gradual entry into the city. Israeli authorities will present the evacuation plan to US officials at their request.

Channel 12 reported that the plan will be ratified by the government before the end of the week.

On Aug. 8, the Israeli Cabinet approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to gradually occupy the Gaza Strip, beginning with Gaza City.

As part of the plan, on Aug. 11, Israeli forces launched a major attack on the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, including house demolitions using explosive-laden robots, artillery strikes, random gunfire, and forced displacement, witnesses told Anadolu.

Israel has killed more than 61,900 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and brought it to the verge of famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

News

Israel Has ‘No Idea of What to Do in Gaza’

CrossFireArabia
August 17, 2025

Israel’s military said Saturday it is preparing to forcibly move Palestinians from Gaza City to the southern part of the enclave, as part of its broader plan to reoccupy the Gaza Strip, a move that has drawn widespread international criticism.

Army spokesman Avichay Adraee claimed in a statement that starting Sunday, the army would resume allowing the entry of tents and shelter equipment for Palestinians displaced by nearly two years of war.

He alleged the supplies would be brought in “under the supervision of the United Nations and international relief agencies” through the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza after “thorough inspections.” Neither the UN nor aid groups have issued immediate comment.

The announcement came a day after Israeli media, including public broadcaster KAN, reported that the army was preparing to accelerate its offensive aimed at capturing Gaza City. Haaretz and Yedioth Ahronoth said army forces received orders to get ready for a full-scale ground incursion, though not before September.

“The Israeli claims about providing civilians with tents are nothing but a blatant attempt to whitewash the crime of mass forced displacement it has been committing since the start of the genocide in Gaza,” Ismail Thawbteh, director of the Government Media Office in Gaza, told Anadolu.

He warned that the area the Israeli army intends to designate for these tents to house the displaced civilians could become “a new blood trap,” similar to what happened in al-Mawasi area west of Rafah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza, where more than 1.5 million people were herded in recent months.

“The forced displacement of civilians under occupation constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity under the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.”

Thawbteh said the planned transfer of civilians is part of a “systematic policy to empty Gaza of its residents and replace the right of voluntary and safe return with an imposed reality of tents and isolated areas.”

On Wednesday, Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir approved what he called the “central idea” of Israel’s reoccupation plan, including an assault on the Zeitoun neighborhood in southern Gaza City, where the army’s 99th Division has already been deployed.

Last week, Israel’s Security Cabinet endorsed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to fully reoccupy Gaza, triggering international outrage and domestic protests that warned it amounted to a “death sentence” for Israeli captives held in the enclave.

The plan envisions starting with the takeover of Gaza City by displacing nearly 1 million residents to the south, surrounding the city, and then carrying out raids into its neighborhoods. A second phase would involve retaking refugee camps in central Gaza, much of which has already been reduced to rubble.

The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal war in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, killing 61,900 Palestinians.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

News

550 Security Chiefs Warn Netanyahu Against Reoccupying Gaza

CrossFireArabia
August 6, 2025

Hundreds of former Israeli security chiefs and diplomats warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday against proceeding with plans for the full reoccupation of the Gaza Strip.

In a statement posted on X, the Commanders for Israel’s Security (CIS) movement – which includes more than 550 former senior officials from the military, Mossad, Shin Bet, police, National Security Council, and Foreign Ministry – urged Netanyahu “to avoid a hasty decision to occupy Gaza.”

The Gaza reoccupation “runs counter to the army chief (Eyal Zamir)’s professional advice and the stance of most Israelis,” they warned.

The group argued that full occupation would endanger Israeli soldiers and hostages, citing that there are regional and international alternatives that the government refuses to discuss.

They called for “returning the hostages, ending the war, replacing Hamas’ rule, joining a regional alliance, and preparing for a potential second war with Iran.”

The warning comes as Netanyahu pushes ahead with plans to reoccupy Gaza, with the Security Cabinet set to meet Thursday to discuss the move. The Israeli army chief has opposed any plan to fully reoccupy Gaza, calling it a “strategic trap.”

The Israeli opposition and hostage families accuse Netanyahu of intentionally delaying a Gaza ceasefire and prisoners swap in favor of partial agreements that allow the war to continue and serve to keep his fragile coalition intact.

Israel has been facing mounting outrage over its destructive war on Gaza, where more than 61,100 people have been killed since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and brought it to the verge of famine.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza according to Anadolu.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

News

Israel’s Top General Fears Reoccupation of Gaza

CrossFireArabia
August 6, 2025

Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir described Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to reoccupy the Gaza Strip as a “strategic trap”. Speaking on Wednesday, he stressed that it will exhaust the army for years to come and endanger the lives of prisoners.

Israel’s Channel 13 reported that a heated discussion took place between Zamir and Netanyahu in a meeting, Tuesday evening, which it described as “difficult and direct,” in light of the latter’s decision to proceed with the occupation of Gaza.

Zamir described the decision as a “strategic trap,” stressing it will exhaust the Israeli army for years later and endanger the lives of the Israeli prisoners in Gaza who are believed to be down to 20.

On Tuesday evening, Netanyahu held a closed-door meeting that lasted three hours, including a limited number of ministers and senior security officials, during which he discussed the plan to encircle Gaza City and the central military bases as the first stage of the occupation of the Strip, according to what the Broadcasting Authority quoted from an unnamed Israeli official.

Channel 13 reported that Zamir “proposed an alternative to the occupation operation, which is to isolate the Gaza Strip and impose a tight siege on Gaza City, along with airstrikes on Hamas positions. However, Netanyahu rejected the proposal and insisted on proceeding with the plan to occupy the Strip.”

Senior military officials, who were not named, quoted Zamir as hinting during the meeting at a threat to resign, saying: “I only have one bullet in my mouth.”

The security cabinet is scheduled to meet tomorrow, Thursday, to discuss the plan to occupy Gaza City and the central Gaza Strip, which Chief of Staff Zamir opposes.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu’s son, Yair, launched a sharp attack on Zamir, accusing him of “leading a rebellion and a military coup.”

On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz announced his support for Zamir in the face of criticism from Netanyahu’s son, Yair.

Katz said in a post on the X platform that “Major General Zamir is leading the army and adopting a strong and aggressive policy.”

He continued: “It is the right and duty of the Chief of Staff to express his position, and after the political leadership makes decisions, the army will implement them firmly.”

Israel previously occupied the Gaza Strip for 38 years, between 1967 and 2005.

Tel Aviv estimates that there are 50 Israeli prisoners in Gaza, 20 of whom are still alive, while more than 10,800 Palestinians are languishing in its prisons, suffering from torture, starvation, and medical neglect, many of whom have died, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.

On July 24, Israel withdrew from indirect negotiations with Hamas in Doha, following Tel Aviv’s intransigence regarding the withdrawal from Gaza, the end of the war, Palestinian prisoners, and the mechanism for distributing humanitarian aid.

According to a poll published Sunday by the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies, 52 percent of Israelis hold their government fully or partially responsible for the failure to reach an agreement with Hamas.

Hamas has repeatedly declared its willingness to release Israeli prisoners “in one go” in exchange for an end to the war of extermination, the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners.

The opposition and the prisoners’ families assert that Netanyahu is seeking partial deals that would allow the continuation of the war while ensuring his continued rule. He fears the collapse of his government if the most extremist faction, which refuses to end the war, withdraws from it.

Domestically, Netanyahu is being tried on corruption charges that would result in his imprisonment if convicted. The International Criminal Court is seeking his arrest on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been committing genocide in the Gaza Strip and starving Palestinians. On March 2, it tightened its measures by closing the crossings to humanitarian, relief, and medical aid, causing a famine that has reached “catastrophic” levels.

The US-backed genocide left more than 211,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 9,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and a famine that claimed the lives of many according to Anadolu.