Extermination without fighting.. Former Israeli official offers a "solution" to the war on Gaza

Natan Eshel, the former director of the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called for "annihilation without fighting" to surround Gaza by resorting to a siege of the Strip and forcing Palestinians to remain in checkpoints or die of starvation, considering that continuing the war "causes heavy losses in the lives of soldiers for no reason."

This came in statements written by Eshel in a group of people close to him via the WhatsApp application, which were reported on Tuesday by several Israeli media outlets, including the private Channel 12 and the newspapers Yedioth Ahronoth, Maariv and Israel Hayom.

In 2010, Eshel served as Netanyahu's chief of staff and was known for his closeness to him. However, in 2012, he was forced to resign from his position due to allegations of sexual misconduct against an employee in the office. However, since then, he has had great influence in Israeli politics from the shadows, according to the Times of Israel.

On Saturday, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Eshel was the reason for the extremist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to apologize to Netanyahu, due to his breach of "coalition discipline" and failure to vote on one of the 2025 budget laws last week.

Echel's solution

The Israeli media quoted Eshel as saying, "The continuation of the war is causing heavy losses in the lives of soldiers and injuries, without achieving any significant results in the return of the kidnapped soldiers or in security achievements," according to his expression.

He added: "Therefore, there is no logic in continuing the war in the Gaza Strip, and therefore it must stop immediately."

Presenting what he considered a solution to end the war, Eshel said, "Since we are surrounding the Gaza Strip from all sides, the only solution is a blockade, so that aid and food are not allowed in, while at the same time allowing a controlled exit to an area where Israel can set up checkpoints for everyone who wants to live."

He added: "Whoever does not want to live and does not go out in an organized and controlled manner will either die by a bullet from an Israeli soldier or die of hunger." He claimed that this is "the only way that has settled all wars in the world throughout history."

"The Biden administration did not want a complete resolution in Gaza, but rather continued its ability to manipulate us, so we can actually prepare and announce that this is a blockade, which is what Israel will do in two weeks, when the Trump administration enters the White House. It is a good thing for Israel," he added.

Since October 7, 2023, the number of occupation army dead has risen to 828 officers and soldiers, including 393 in the ground battles that began in the Gaza Strip on the 27th of the same month, according to army data.

Tel Aviv is holding more than 10,300 Palestinians in its prisons, while it estimates that there are 100 Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip, while Hamas announced the killing of dozens of its prisoners in random Israeli raids.

With the continuation of the genocide and the pressure of international courts, political and military circles in Israel do not stop trying to find a way out that will keep them from incurring more losses in the Gaza Strip.

Among the latest of these attempts, Giora Eiland, the architect of the so-called Israeli generals’ plan that calls for besieging northern Gaza and displacing Palestinians from it, said on Tuesday that the way to end Hamas’ rule in the Strip is not through a military solution, saying: “Except for the dozens of soldiers who will die every year under military rule, you will not achieve anything.”

Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with American support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, leaving about 155,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and the elderly, in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

Tel Aviv continues its massacres, ignoring two arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court on November 21 against Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant, on charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinians in Gaza.

Source: Al Jazeera + Agencies