Israeli military official says Hamas cannot be destroyed, as rift with Netanyahu widens

Israel’s top military spokesman has said Hamas cannot be made to “disappear,” casting doubt about whether the government’s war aim of defeating the militant group can be achieved and drawing a sharp rebuke from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel’s top military spokesman has said Hamas cannot be made to “disappear,” casting doubt about whether the government’s war aim of defeating the militant group can be achieved and drawing a sharp rebuke from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The idea that it is possible to destroy Hamas, to make Hamas vanish — that is throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Wednesday in an interview with Israel’s Channel 13. Hagari’s comments prompted a terse response from Netanyahu’s office, which said Israel’s security cabinet “has defined the destruction of Hamas’ military and governing capabilities” as one of the aims of its war in Gaza. “The IDF, of course, is committed to this,” Netanyahu’s office said. The IDF later sought to clarify Hagari’s remarks, confirming it is committed to the government’s war goals and claiming that Hagari was only referring to Hamas “as an ideology and as an idea.” Despite the IDF’s attempt to soften Hagari’s remarks, cracks appear to be deepening between the Israeli government and its military. Netanyahu has come under increasing pressure from members of his government and Israel’s allies, including the United States, to devise a strategy for the post-war governance of Gaza after Israel’s devastating bombardment of the isolated enclave.