Israel war cabinet 'chaotic' meeting, ministers verbally attack chief of staff

Almost three months after his outbreak war between Israel and Hamasprevailed a climate of great tension between the Chief of the Israeli General Staff General Herchi Halevi and far-right ministers during a broad meeting of the government of Israel last Thursday, according to reports in the Israeli press.

Ministers came down hard on the general after he announced he would set up a commission to investigate military blunders that allowed the surprise, unprecedented attack by Hamas's military arm into southern sectors of Israeli territory on October 7.

The meeting, late in the evening, ended in “loudness” with participants “reporting”Israeli media reported yesterday.

According to state broadcaster Kan, a source who attended the meeting described how “absolute anarchy” prevailed.

After all, Prime Minister Netanyahu adjourned the meetingin which her future was supposed to be discussed Gaza Strip after the war, as officers left in exasperation, according to media reports, which have not been officially confirmed.

General Halevi received severe verbal attacks on personnel. Far-right members of the government have criticized the timing of the investigation as the war is still ongoing, as broadcast by the German Agency and relayed by the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency. The choice of the person to lead the investigation, former defense minister Saul Mofaz, also drew strong criticism.

When he was defense minister, Mr. Mofaz oversaw Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005. At least two ministers in the current government, who belong to the far right, favor the creation of new Jewish settlements in the Palestinian enclave and displacement—the encouragement to “immigrate,” as they put it— of most of its population.

The military is in favor of an investigation into the mistakes that made the October 7 attack possible by Hamas.

An investigation into the wrongdoing of the armed forces in this case, as in others, is the right thing to do, military spokesman Daniel Hagari said Friday night. The army must learn from its mistakes, he explained.

The investigation is still being planned, it has not started, he stressed. It is said that it will be an internal investigation, in which former officials will also be asked to give answers. According to the Hagari army spokesman, the result of the investigation will be made public.

last Thursday, Defense Minister Yoav Galand rejected the “presence of Israeli citizens in the Gaza Strip” after the end of the war.

Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's wartime government – and a former chief of the general staff himself – reportedly blamed Prime Minister Netanyahu for this “politically motivated attack” “in the midst of war”, stressing that he had never seen never such attitudes in a cabinet meeting.

Mr Netanyahu's Likud party rejected his criticism.

Besides, Mr. Gantz, whose party would come out in first place if elections were held this time, according to opinion polls, defended General Halevi's decision to name a committee, according to Israeli media. He stated that this is a correct initiative, a good development and emphasized that it is the duty of the chief of the general staff to seek responsibility after the October 7 disaster.

The Times of Israel speculated that the military's review of its errors and omissions could put pressure on the government to investigate its own mistakes in the case, which it estimated may have been among the springs of the attacks by ministers.

Mr. Netanyahu, who is expected to stand trial in three corruption cases over the years, does not want such an investigation until after the war in the Gaza Strip is over.

Critics of the right-wing prime minister believe that his intention is to drag out the war in order to remain in power.