Awaiting the upcoming meeting of the National Security Council, Israeli media are discounting that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has advocated for the expansion of military operations aimed at the complete occupation of the Gaza Strip.

Israel‘s Channel 12 television network and the Jerusalem Post newspaper, citing a source in Netanyahu’s office, reported that the Israeli prime minister has decided that an escalation of military operations in the Gaza Strip is required, even in areas where Hamas hostages are believed to be held, with the ultimate goal of taking over the entire Palestinian enclave.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office conveyed the message to Israel’s chief of the National Defense Staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, calling on him to resign if he objects, according to a Jerusalem Post report.

The Times of Israel reported that Lt. Gen. Zamir postponed a planned trip to the United States.

“We must remain united and fight together to achieve all of our war goals: defeating the enemy, freeing our hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel,” Netanyahu said yesterday in an address to his ministers.

Hamas: “Israel’s threats are useless and have no influence on our decisions”

Hamas responded to reports about the intention to conquer Gaza, saying: “Israel’s threats are repeated, useless and have no influence on our decisions.”

The announcement comes after months of talks in Doha between Hamas, Israel and mediators to reach a ceasefire agreement and hostage release.

Hamas has demanded hundreds of humanitarian aid trucks enter the Gaza Strip in order to return to the negotiations, despite increased international efforts to provide resources to the Palestinian enclave in a way that bypasses the Strip’s Islamist leaders.

Who opposes Netanyahu’s plan

At the same time, former intelligence chiefs and the chiefs of staff of Israel’s armed forces are among hundreds of former security officials who have sent a letter to US President Donald Trump urging him to put pressure on Netanyahu to end the Gaza war.

“Stop the war in Gaza!”, the Commanders for Israel’s Security (CIS) movement, signed by 550 former intelligence chiefs and officers, army, police and former diplomats, calls in a letter. Three former heads of the Mossad (intelligence agency), five former heads of the Shin Bet (internal security agency) and three former chiefs of the army’s general staff are among those who signed the letter, which was made public Sunday night into Monday.

Among those reportedly in favor of expanding operations in Gaza were Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Military Minister Major General Roman Goffman and Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs.

On the other hand, among those reportedly in favor of continuing efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage agreement include Zamir, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, the leader of the Shas party, Arié Derry, national security adviser Jazi Hanegbi, Mossad chief David Barnea, Shin Bet negotiator known by the Hebrew letter “Mem,” and Major General Nijan Alon, who oversees the hostage file for the army.

Propaganda videos released in recent days by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, in which Israeli hostages are shown disarmed, have provoked a reaction in Israel and a heated debate about the urgent need to reach an agreement to release all hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip.

According to CNN, the defense establishment opposes expanding ground operations into areas where hostages are believed to be held, as this would risk putting them in danger.

The report was criticized by a group of Israeli soldiers’ mothers, saying it would be fatal for both hostages and soldiers. The Palestinian Authority called on the international community to intervene.

Asked about plans to expand the military campaign, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Monday that it reflected “the desire to see all the hostages return and the desire to see the end of this war after the failure of the talks for a partial agreement.”

It is not clear whether the Israeli government’s approach aligns with that of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Whitcoff.

Whitcoff spent three hours with the families of Israeli hostages on Saturday, and the Hostage and Missing Families Forum quoted him as saying that the plan “is not to expand the war, but to end it. We believe that the negotiations should change to all or nothing. End the war and return all 50 hostages home at the same time – that’s the only way.”

Fifty hostages remain in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive.

Netanyahu said videos of Israeli hostages starving to death demonstrate that Hamas “does not want a deal. They want to tear us apart with these horrific videos, with the false propaganda of terror that they spread around the world.”

However, the family forum warned the government not to expand the military campaign in Gaza.

“Netanyahu is preparing the greatest deception of all. Repeated claims of releasing hostages through military victory are lies and public deception,” the forum said on Sunday.

The forum called on Israel and Hamas to commit to returning “the 50 hostages to their homes, ending the war and then rebuilding and reviving Israel,” the statement said.

Hamas has insisted it is committed to negotiations, but only when the “devastating humanitarian situation” is addressed, according to Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas political official.

Another Hamas official, Mahmoud Mardawi, said last week that it “makes no sense” to resume talks as long as the famine crisis in Gaza persists.