Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who reportedly said Netanyahu's plan would 'drag Israel into a black hole,' set to warn security cabinet, as hostage families sound alarm on risk to captives

Even by the pugilistic standards of Israeli politics, the week of rancour between Benjamin Netanyahu and his handpicked military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir was extraordinary. Across days of co-ordinated leaks and public mudslinging,

Netanyahu wants us to believe, or at least wants the Trump administration to, that Israel has no alternative than to intensify the war and, in effect, reoccupy the whole of the Gaza Strip — seriously risking the lives of the hostages in the process.

The Israeli prime minister, facing growing opposition at home and abroad, declares that Israel 'has no choice but to finish the job and complete the defeat of Hamas' in Gaza.