Eyal Zamir, the Israeli general at odds with Netanyahu

By Charlotte Greenfield and Alexander Cornwell

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Eyal Zamir, the Israeli armed forces chief of staff arguing against a full takeover of Gaza, is the latest in a long line of generals to tussle with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Zamir fears endangering the lives of remaining hostages and miring an exhausted military in Gaza, he told Netanyahu during a stormy meeting on Tuesday, though he is expected to seize the last areas of the besieged territory if ordered to do so. 

Speaking on Thursday as Netanyahu's war cabinet prepared to meet, Zamir defended his right to speak out on the military's behalf, calling the culture of debate "an inseparable part of the history of the Jewish people".

But he also said the military now had the ability to establish a new security reality along the border. "Our intention is to defeat Hamas and continue to operate with our hostages at the forefront of our minds," he said.

His hard image looks very different to Palestinians. They already knew Zamir for suppressing Gaza unrest in 2018 when more than 150 people were killed. Now they see him as the architect of utter devastation in the territory. 

TIGHTROPE ACT

He has a difficult line to walk. 

"The challenge that stands in front of him right now, promoting a doctrine or policy that he really doesn't support, will be very complicated," said Michael Milshtein of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University.

Still, as a former military secretary to Netanyahu, promoted by the prime minister to deputy head of the general staff in 2018 and to the top job early this year, Zamir should be well placed to argue his point, Milshtein said. 

Unlike some of the other army top brass, Zamir was not tainted with the catastrophic security mistakes of Hamas' October 7, 2023, cross-border assault on Israeli communities, he said, an attack seen as Israel's worst military failure. 

He is also the commander in chief of a military now riding high in the national mood after shattering Lebanon's Hezbollah last year and taking out much of Iran's nuclear programme and Revolutionary Guards leadership in June. 

The scale of Israel's successes in both conflicts re-established its reputation as the Middle East's military hegemon, inspiring a wave of national pride over the pummelling of Iranian-backed Hezbollah and the weakening of Iran. 

While internal political divisions meant trust in Netanyahu was only 40% in an Israeli poll last month, more than 68% of respondents trusted Zamir. 

But at the same time, the Israeli military has come under ever greater criticism from abroad, including from major Western allies, over its conduct of the war in Gaza - with massive destruction, looming famine and a high civilian casualty toll.

Zamir has already expanded the Gaza war since replacing Herzi Halevi, who resigned as chief of staff in January over the October 7 Hamas attack. 

After Israel broke a ceasefire with Hamas in March, it escalated major ground operations across Gaza. Zamir told troops in a speech that "we will continue until we break the enemy’s fighting capability — until we defeat it wherever we operate".

TANK SOLDIER

Zamir began his long military career in the armoured corps after joining up in 1984, commanding tanks at a time when Israeli forces were deeply involved in their occupation of southern Lebanon.    

He later ran a military doctrine and training unit, helping formulate Israeli strategic thinking, before heading the army's 7th Brigade and then its 36th Division. 

As head of Southern Command from 2015-18 he was responsible for how the military handled months of weekly protests by thousands of Gazans approaching the security fence with Israel after a partial blockade of goods and people in place since 2005, when Israel pulled its military and settlers out of the coastal enclave.  

More than 150 protesters were killed in the demonstrations, with Palestinians saying the victims were unarmed and Israel calling them rioters. 

One Gazan injured in the 2018 protests at the age of 16, who only gave his name as Basel, said by phone: "We don't differentiate between the Israeli leaders. Zamir is like all the others. A war criminal." 

Zamir's long record was roundly praised by Netanyahu and his ministers when he was appointed, but the difficulty of balancing the demands of the political leadership with the needs of a stretched army soon kicked in. 

By April, Israeli media outlets were reporting clashes between the chief of staff and government ministers, particularly those from the far right in Netanyahu's coalition, who wanted a tougher approach in Gaza. 

Israeli generals have throughout the war voiced concerns about an open-ended conflict with reserve troops repeatedly called up and the military taking over governance of an enclave reduced to rubble with an embittered population. 

"From the military point of view, it’s not a very complicated mission to occupy all Gaza. But it’s quite clear that the minute this occupation is accomplished, it means the IDF is responsible for 2 million Palestinians," said Milshtein. 

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield and Alex Cornwell in Jerusalem, additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo; writing by Angus McDowall; editing by Mark Heinrich)