Israel’s military leaders signal their work in Gaza and Lebanon is done. Will Netanyahu listen?
In subtle but increasingly vocal ways, Israel’s military leaders are signaling that the country has achieved all it can militarily in Lebanon and Gaza, and it’s time for the politicians to strike a deal.
It comes as Lebanon’s prime minister says that a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel could be imminent. Both candidates for the American presidency have also made clear they do not want wars in Gaza and Lebanon to be on the agenda when they take office.
When the Israel Defense Forces’ top general sat down with officers in northern Gaza – who are waging one of the military’s fiercest operations since last year’s invasion – he went further than ever in suggesting the military phases of both conflicts should end.
“In the north, there’s a possibility of reaching a sharp conclusion,” Herzi Halevi, Chief of the General Staff, said, referring to the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon. In Gaza, he said, “if we take out the northern Gaza Brigade commander, it’s another collapse…. I don’t know what we’ll encounter tomorrow, but this pressure brings us closer to more achievements.”
What those achievements should be is the subject of much consternation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly pledged “absolute victory.” His defense minister and longtime political tormentor Yoav Gallant has bristled at that goal. In August, he told a closed-door parliamentary committee meeting that the idea of “absolute victory” in Gaza was “nonsense,” according to Israeli media.
Israel’s Smotrich to sign waiver for Palestinian-Israeli bank cooperation for one month
Israel’s finance minister, under pressure from US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, will sign a waiver to extend cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian banks for another month after the cabinet agreed, his spokesman says.
Smotrich in June extended a waiver that allows cooperation between Israel’s banking system and Palestinian banks in the occupied West Bank but for only four months until today.
The waiver allows Israeli banks to process shekel payments for services and salaries tied to the Palestinian Authority without the risk of being charged with money laundering and funding “terrorism”. Without it, Palestinian banks would be cut off from the Israeli financial system.
Israeli cabinet set to approve wartime austerity budget
Israeli cabinet ministers are to start voting later today on a long-awaited wartime budget for 2025 that will rein in spending and raise a host of taxes to pay for the military conflicts that have engulfed the country.
Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon have cost the country billions of dollars on spending for defence – for military equipment, compensation for those impacted and manpower after hundreds of thousands of citizens were called for reserve duty.
“Our security also depends on the economy. We cannot have a strong military if we have no way of financing it,” PM Benjamin Netanyahu said at the outset of a cabinet meeting before the budget vote, which could run into the night.
“There is no economy without restrictions. If you give to one place, you unfortunately need to take from another,” he said.
Israel’s economy has taken a hit since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and start of the war in Gaza. There has been zero growth, supply issues have pushed up inflation, and the cost of living for Israelis has soared.
