Netanyahu coalition partner 'doesn't understand' more Gaza fighting
A high-ranking representative of Benjamin Netanyahu's Israeli government has voiced unusually strong criticism of the conduct of the Gaza war.
Moshe Gafni, leader of one of the ultra-Orthodox parties in the governing coalition, said in a parliamentary committee meeting in Jerusalem on Wednesday that he does not understand what Israel is fighting for in the Gaza Strip: "I don't understand the purpose."
Gafni is the leader of the Degel HaTorah (Banner of the Torah) party, which is part of the United Torah Judaism alliance.
Gafni commented on the ceasefire between Israel and Iran at the beginning of the meeting and thanked US President Donald Trump for his mediation efforts. He then spoke about the seven Israeli soldiers who were killed in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
"What are we supposed to do there when soldiers are being killed all the time? I don't understand it. We need a Trump here who says, 'We're bringing the hostages back, ending all this and returning to normality.'"
The Israeli military said on Wednesday that the seven soldiers died "during combat in the southern Gaza Strip," while another was injured.
The military released the names of six of the soldiers killed, all men aged between 19 and 21 serving with the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion.
Citing an initial probe by the military, local media reported that the soldiers were killed in Khan Younis after an explosive device planted by a Palestinian operative on the armoured vehicle they were travelling in went off.
The Gaza war was triggered by the attack on Israel by Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7, 2023. Around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage and abducted to the Gaza Strip.
Since then, the Israeli military has been fighting Hamas. The Gaza war has caused devastating destruction there. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, around 56,000 people have been killed so far.
More than 800 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the fighting.
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