Israeli War Cabinet member Gadi Eisenkot expressed Wednesday serious concerns about the current government's handling of the war in Gaza and the northern front with Hezbollah.

Eisenkot dismissed the notion that dismantling a few battalions in Rafah could lead to the quick return of the Israeli captives, calling it an "illusion," according to the Israeli Army Radio.

He emphasized that stabilizing the region was a highly complex task that could take between three to five years, followed by many more years to establish a new authority.

"The idea of 'complete victory' is nothing more than a slogan," Eisenkot said, pointing out Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's failures on both security and economic levels.

Eisenkot highlighted the difficulty of bringing back the captives, stating that they were dispersed across numerous locations, heavily guarded, and protected by armed personnel. He also noted that if elections were held in Gaza today, Hamas would likely emerge victorious despite the desires of the Israeli occupation's leadership.

Expressing frustration over the diminishing influence of his faction within the cabinet, Eisenkot called for early elections to address the government's waning effectiveness.

He argued for the necessity of a preemptive strike on Lebanon to counter Hezbollah, criticizing the delayed response to Hezbollah's operations, which kicked off on October 8 and have since been costly for the Israeli occupation.

An earlier investigation of the Israeli Channel 12 reported that during a cabinet meeting hours before the launch of an attack on Hezbollah on 11 October, Eisenkot walked up to the head of the military intelligence division in the army, grabbed him by the body, and addressed him: “Say, so that they can hear your opinion, do you think it is right to bomb Hezbollah tonight?”, The general proceeded to answer "no".

Eisenkot advocated for tripling the number of personnel in the north and ensuring serious protection for the settlers in the region while promoting an agreement to strengthen UN Resolution 1701.

Commenting Eisenkot's statements, Channel 12 military commentator Nir Dvori said that "what Eisenkot is saying is not how they manage the battle, and this is not how they reach the goals, and a radical change must be made if we want to be worthy of the price you pay in the Gaza Strip."

"Israel in this way is going to destruction," a Channel 12 military commentator said.

In response, the Likud party accused Eisenkot and former Security Minister Benny Gantz of seeking excuses to end the war prematurely and withdraw from the government at a critical time. Likud spokespersons criticized them for focusing on narrow political interests instead of striving for "victory", which top Israeli brass argue is near-impossible to achieve at this point.

Pessimistic or realistic?

Eisenkot had said Monday that Hamas "renewed its forces" and that the fighting in the Gaza Strip is expected to "continue for years", Israeli news website Ynet reported.

What needs to be done now "is to reach the end of fighting in Rafah and at the same time move forward along the path of a hostage deal, in which we will cease fire for 42 days or double that," Eisenkot was quoted as saying during a session in the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee.

"There is no [trade-off] between releasing prisoners in exchange for ending the war," he further said, noting that negotiating a deal involving captives is crucial from a strategic standpoint. 

"As we stopped in November for a short break, we stopped for 42 days. And even if we need more than that, it does not mean we will end the fighting," he added.

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Eisenkot's remarks come at a critical juncture as the Israeli public advocates for an exchange deal without a clear post-war strategy after 8 months of fighting, during which the Israeli army did not attain any declared war objectives. These challenges are compounded by collapsed negotiations due to Israeli obstinacy and its military operation in Rafah.