Netanyahu Faces High-Level Opposition to His Stance on Gaza Truce

A split has opened up within Israel’s political and military leadership over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on a comprehensive deal to end the Gaza war, according to four officials with knowledge of the internal deliberations.

Several leading figures in the military, the Mossad spy agency and the government are calling instead for a return to the phased approach to resolving the conflict, beginning with a temporary truce.

Mr. Netanyahu and other senior ministers now favor a more elusive deal that aims to free all the remaining hostages at once and end the war on terms set by Israel — terms that Hamas has so far rejected. The phased approach would free about half the hostages initially in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners.

Those opposing Mr. Netanyahu’s stance include the military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir; David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad spy agency; Tzachi Hanegbi, Mr. Netanyahu’s national security adviser; and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue. The opponents have not commented publicly. The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment and the Israeli military declined to comment.

Hamas recently said it would agree to the latest proposal for a phased cease-fire deal put forward by Egypt and Qatar, two mediating countries. A temporary truce would postpone Israel’s planned advance into the heart of Gaza City, which the government portrays as one of Hamas’s last strongholds.

The opponents of Mr. Netanyahu’s position generally attend meetings of Israel’s security cabinet, a small group of political and security leaders. Security cabinet discussions are classified, but local news reports described a meeting on Sunday as stormy.