Yediot Ahronot newspaper, citing Israeli political and military officials, reported that as the ground operation in Gaza approaches, there is an impasse over the issue of Israeli prisoners held by Hamas and that "the government is having difficulty reaching an agreement on basic issues."
"Netanyahu is said to believe that senior Israeli army officials are responsible for everything that has happened (Hamas attacks against Israel that began on October 7) and is angry with them," the report said.
The article stated that after Hamas released two US prisoners on October 20, the US wanted progress to be made on other prisoners, and for this reason, the US administration pressured Israel to postpone the ground operation against Gaza.
According to the newspaper, US President Joe Biden believes that "dealing with the hostage issue takes precedence over any other action, including a ground operation."
Pointing to the statements of Israeli Army Spokesperson Daniel Hagari yesterday, "We will move to the next stage (ground operation) in line with the decision of the political will," the article said, "This is a way for senior officials in the Israeli army to transfer decision-making responsibility to the government, especially the Prime Minister."
The article also pointed out that "apart from the controversy over the timing of the ground operation, a crisis of trust has emerged between Netanyahu and the Israeli army," and stated that this crisis "creates another damage in addition to the great damage inflicted on Israel on October 7."
"The situation is different at the top of the government and the army"
Noting that Israel "lacks an effective leadership", the report shared the following findings:
"This (crisis) makes it difficult to focus on the war and make decisions. Israel now needs effective leadership focused on its mission. According to political and military officials, the government is struggling to reach consensual decisions on key issues on the agenda.
Last week, Netanyahu blocked a decision to carry out a deterrent operation in the north (border with Lebanon), against the advice of the Israeli army and Defense Minister (Yoav) Gallant. However, Netanyahu denied this claim. At the center of the controversy was the US demand that Israel refrain from a deterrent attack on Lebanon. The Americans added a generous package of military aid to the request, deploying two aircraft carriers off the coast of Lebanon and pledging to support the Israeli army should Hezbollah start a war."
"The war in Gaza has created a broad consensus in Israeli society, but not at the top of the government and the army," the report added.
On the other hand, Haaretz newspaper, in its report yesterday, criticized that "Netanyahu is trying to evade responsibility for failing to predict Hamas' attack on October 7 and to shift this responsibility to the army."
