Netanyahu Lost Control, Clashed with Army Chief Over Gaza Bombing Scale

Watan-The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth revealed on Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lost his temper, went out of control, and broke down, shouting at former IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi while Halevi was presenting the army’s operations to the Security Cabinet (the “kitchen cabinet”) during the first two days of the war on Gaza that began on October 7, 2023.

The newspaper explained that Halevi noted the Israeli Air Force had struck 1,500 targets in the first 48 hours of the war of extermination. Although this is a massive number requiring exceptional intelligence and operational capabilities, Netanyahu exploded in rage, slammed the table, and yelled at the Chief of Staff: “Why not 5,000?” Halevi replied, “We don’t have 5,000 approved targets,” to which Netanyahu responded: “I don’t care about targets. Destroy homes, blow up everything we have.”

According to the article by journalist Nahum Barnea, this outburst was part of what former war cabinet member Gadi Eisenkot and others would later describe as a breakdown in Netanyahu’s leadership during the early days of the war. Barnea added, “Officers I met in those days said Netanyahu had lost his mind. No wonder he refuses today to allow any investigation (through an official commission of inquiry). His problem isn’t Chief Justice Amit. Even if MK Tali Gottlieb from Likud were to head the inquiry committee, she wouldn’t be able to stop the witnesses from testifying.”

Army Led the War as Netanyahu Dodged Responsibility

According to the report, the military felt “abandoned, even in the later stages.” The Cabinet members fought among themselves and failed to provide the General Staff with a coherent vision, strategy, or leadership. The argument that broke out on October 11, 2023, about launching a war in Lebanon foreshadowed what was to come. At the time, the military, Shin Bet, Mossad, and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant supported the operation, while Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot, and the Americans opposed it.

Netanyahu himself didn’t want to carry it out, but he was afraid of having that position officially recorded. He and Gallant later resumed their disputes over the operation in Cabinet meetings over the following months, in front of the Chief of Staff and stunned generals. The newspaper added: “They simply couldn’t stop fighting. The operation was eventually carried out at a different time and under different circumstances, with results that ‘shocked’ the world. Who was right? Even within the army, opinions remain divided.”

Army Took Charge as Netanyahu Shifted Blame

In reality, according to the newspaper, “it wasn’t the Cabinet that managed the war — it was the army. That’s how the military leadership felt. It was the army that initiated, planned, and executed.”

Netanyahu claimed credit for every successful step and disowned every failure. At times, he boasted of being involved in every detail; at other times, he claimed he hadn’t been informed at all — depending on the outcome. He later worked to shift full blame for the failures onto senior IDF and Shin Bet leaders, hoping they would fall while he would emerge unscathed.

The article also pointed out that Halevi had made it clear from the start that the war would be long and that he couldn’t predict how long it would last. Barnea noted that the leadership circle around Halevi was on the verge of collapse, with some senior officers breaking down in tears. He reported: “A brigadier general from one of the divisions told me a few days after October 7 that he went to the funeral of a friend killed in one of the kibbutzim — and he felt ashamed to attend in uniform. The sense of guilt and shame was unbearably heavy.”