Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a Monday interview on Army Radio that “with the current Chief of Staff, we will not be able to win in Gaza. We need to occupy the Strip and establish a military government there. I want a Chief of Staff who understands that this is his goal, stands behind it and is going to realize it.”
Smotrich added that “there is no third party that can control the Strip, it’s a bluff. We need to control Gaza for at least one to two years, with a combined military and civilian effort, until we shut down Hamas and the population stops being afraid of it.”
Smotrich’s criticism of IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi reflects a deep dissatisfaction with Halevi’s leadership, despite acknowledging his military achievements. Smotrich believes that while Halevi has been effective in operational terms, he is lacking in the psychological and strategic leadership necessary to win in Gaza. This criticism highlights a perceived gap between military success and the ability to implement the kind of decisive, long-term strategy Smotrich envisions for the region.
“I love the Chief of Staff. I appreciate him, I admire him, but there is a colossal failure here. He has military achievements but a failure from a deep psychological perspective. With this Chief of Staff, you can fight, but not win,” Smotrich said.
In an appearance Sunday night on Channel 14’s Patriots, Smotrich offered more specifics (see video below). Smotrich emphasized his respect for Chief of Staff Halevi’s personal sacrifice and professional abilities, particularly in terms of operational military effectiveness. However, Smotrich sharply critiqued Halevi’s strategic vision, suggesting that while Halevi excels at tactical and immediate military actions, he lacks the broader, long-term strategic foresight necessary to address the challenges in Gaza and achieve a lasting victory. This distinction between operational competence and strategic vision is central to Smotrich’s criticism.
“I think that he is a great hero and very professional at the operational level of using force, but he has no strategic vision,” Smotrich told Patriots host Yinon Magal.
“For decades, we have been accustomed to the army achieving very great operational gains on the battlefield, and then a political machination glosses over all these achievements and goes to a surrender deal with all sorts of false clichés such as, restraint is the strength of the strong.
“And it is true, there should be a political settlement in Gaza. The military effort is only part of the war effort and the new political reality that will exist in Gaza is that the State of Israel controls it both militarily and on the civilian level, and this is the only way to create a situation where there is no Hamas.
“Truth be told: the Chief of Staff has been diluting the political echelon’s directive for a year, with his body, practically, time and again, to avoid taking responsibility for managing humanitarian aid, with the understanding that there is no other way to eradicate Hamas. Hamas is first and foremost a civilian organization. It built everything on that.
“I mentioned earlier the debate we had in the cabinet where we asked to do some micromanagement and tell the army exactly what to do, and the army said, don’t tell me what to do. Give us your principles.
“The Prime Minister instructed in writing at the end of a Cabinet discussion in May,
he instructed the security system in May to prepare to distribute the humanitarian aid ourselves in a way that does not reach Hamas. They are still trying to prepare now. And when the Chief of Staff says, I have never violated the directive of the political echelon. Which is true. The Prime Minister did not tell him, you have a week to do this or you give back the keys.
“By the way, the Prime Minister was wrong about this. I have severe criticism against him. The Prime Minister should have told Halevi to do this within a week. The fact is that since then, for seven or eight months or more, the system has been fighting this directive,” Smotrich said.
