Netanyahu's forever war continues full speed ahead /
‘For Israeli Democrats, the choices are surrender, exile or civil war’ /
Netanyahu cabinet about to fire its last gate-keeper /
Trump: ‘My MAGA base are starting to hate Israel’ /
‘Hamas are sons of death; Ours are sons of iniquity’ /
Smotrich proposes ethnic cleansing of the Galilee /
The ‘Neo-Mizrahi wave’ and the unleashing of Israel’s ethnic demon
[These compilations are drawn from analysis & commentary by leading Israeli commentators, predominantly published in Hebrew — as reports published in Hebrew often provide a different window on Israeli internal discourse].
“It’s not just war. It’s Genocide” (Gideon Levy, Haaretz):
We can no longer hide, evade, mumble, mollify and obscure. Nor can we hang on to legal sophistry about the "question of intent" or to wait for the ruling of the ICJ in The Hague, which may only be handed down once it's too late. It's already too late. That is why the time has come to call the horror by its name – and its full name is genocide, the extermination of a people. There is no other way to describe it. In front of our horrified eyes, Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. It did not begin now; it began in 1948 … Two leading Israeli rights groups have named what others still deny: the campaign in Gaza is not just brutal or disproportionate – it is the deliberate destruction of a people. The evidence is overwhelming, the intent undeniable, and the silence complicit … Incomparably reliable and brave, they took a historic step. It was clear that their spokespeople didn't find it easy. The discomfort was in the room.
Netanyahu's forever war continues full speed ahead (Chaim Levenson):
Israeli, American and Gulf political sources say Netanyahu's plan is continuing full speed ahead. That is, drag on the war so that the next general election can take place as late as possible, hoping that people will forget the government's epic failure of October 7, 2023. The next election is due by late October next year … To keep the far right from quitting the government, Netanyahu [is] telling Ben-Gvir that he will personally handle "voluntary emigration" by Gazans. He "sits down every week to assign tasks," to find receptive countries. Well, right now, no such country exists … Netanyahu is selling him a plan to annex parts of Gaza. Everybody knows that everybody is lying to everybody else, but nobody wants to resign from the government in August, the first month of the Knesset recess, so the bluffing continues … Negotiations are still deadlocked. Qatar says that they're not yet lost … Israel doesn't share this optimism, and, as usual, accuses Hamas of scuttling the talks … A little reminder. Back in May 2024, Hamas, via the mediators, said it was prepared to release all the hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal and an end to the war. Israel objected[and] each time, Netanyahu made sure to put up another obstacle in the talks. Once it was the alleged need to hold on to the Philadelphi corridor on Gaza's border with Egypt, once it was the need to exile Hamas' leaders, and once it was Trump's transfer plan … Time dragged on and Netanyahu's government survived … Netanyahu's main problem is that the army believes there are few cards left to play. Defense Minister Katz's threats that Hamas would soon feel the wrath of God if it didn't surrender are empty. IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has exhausted the military operation in Gaza; he believes it's now purposeless.
There is no starvation in Gaza, We will continue the war until Hamas are there no more (PM Netanyahu):
There is no starvation in Gaza, no policy of starvation in Gaza, and I assure you that we have a commitment to achieve our war goals. We will continue to fight till we achieve the release of our hostages and the destruction of Hamas' military and governing capabilities. They shall be there no more.
“The response to the cruel abuse of hostages must be complete destruction of this pure evil [Hamas] from the face of the earth” (Finance Minister Smotrich):
“Whose heart is not torn at the sight of the images reflecting the dire condition of [Israeli hostage] Avitar David, whom the Nazis of Hamas are abusing with inhuman cruelty. The purpose of Hamas in publishing the hostage videos is … to tear our hearts and exert pressure on us through the terror of manipulations to surrender and stop the war before its destruction. This will not happen. The response to the cruel abuse of the hostages must be the complete destruction of this pure evil from the face of the earth and the return of all the hostages without any conditions. Immediately! With all force and without stopping for a moment! Wipe out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens!”
… "The army should receive an immediate order to occupy the entire Gaza Strip in one fell swoop — Gaza City and the central camps, kill all the terrorists, and destroy all the terror infrastructure above and below the ground. To impose full military rule in the Gaza Strip. Immediately, forcefully, without calculation and without stopping for a moment. Mr. Prime Minister, the time is over to hesitate and sit on the edge of the dilemma. There is no more both, there is no more neither."