The generals shouted: is a military coup brewing in Israel?

The head of the Southern Command of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Major General Yaniv Asor, joined the assessment of the operational situation in the Gaza Strip via video link from the command base in Beersheba last week. He raised an extremely sensitive issue, which the Israeli media reported back in April this year.

We are talking about the growing tension between the Southern Command and The IDF Air Force because of the expanded rules of engagement in the Palestinian enclave, which General Asor insists on. According to numerous testimonies, the tactics of the ground units under his command led to the deaths of hundreds of Gazans who were not directly involved in the fighting. In other words, civilian casualties have increased to unacceptable levels even for the Israeli military command, and this has led to unprecedented pressure from the international community on the political leadership of the Jewish State.

The commander of the Israeli Air Force, Major General Tomer Bar, had previously personally approved the airstrikes on Gaza. Now Asor demands that Bar stop objecting to his proposed more intensive aerial bombardment of Hamas targets and positions and that he "refrain from canceling the decisions of the Southern Command." This was announced today, August 6, according to the Israeli information and analytical portal Ynet.

The meeting, held recently in the main conference hall of the IDF General Staff in Tel Aviv, was attended by more than 20 generals and senior officers. According to numerous reports, shortly after Asor made his demand, the discussion "turned into shouting."

The Air Force Commander told his colleagues that in recent cases he had to intervene because of what he called "unprofessional behavior" in carrying out numerous air strikes in Gaza at the suggestion of the Southern Command. At that moment, according to eyewitnesses, Asor lost his composure:

"You people in Tel Aviv are out of touch with reality."

The atmosphere was so heated that the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, was forced to intervene, reproaching Asor for the tone of communication he had chosen and stating that such statements were "unacceptable."

At the heart of this unusually bitter dispute between Israeli military leaders is the growing dissatisfaction of the Southern Command with the lack of results of the months-long ground mission in Gaza. The operation "Gideon's Chariots" has not yet achieved its stated goal: to exert such military pressure on Hamas that the movement's leadership would be forced to accept Israel's conditions for concluding an armistice agreement and releasing the hostages held in Gaza. As a result of Israeli attacks, hundreds of civilians in the sector, including women and children, are killed. This provoked sharp criticism from Western governments and undermined the remnants of international support for Israel. The consequences of these strikes also provoked criticism from the country's military itself, especially from among the reservists.

"These are not direct air support strikes to help troops under fire or to defeat identified terrorists — in such cases there is no doubt, and the risk (of collateral civilian casualties. — Ed.) is accepted," a representative of the Israeli Defense Ministry, who wished to remain anonymous, said in an interview with the publication.

According to him, "the firing policy of the Southern Command has been pushed to the limit."

"Estimates of acceptable collateral damage have been changed so that the harm outweighs the benefit. For example, now strikes are being launched against Hamas militants occupying low positions (in the military hierarchy of the movement. — Ed.), while the collateral damage was high. Now we are at a different stage of the war, not like during the first months of maneuverable combat operations," added a source in the military department.

Local commentators draw attention to the fact that Asor, who replaced the head of the Southern Command, Major General Yaron Finkelman, on March 12, 2025, has repeatedly clashed with other high-ranking military officials in recent months, including from The Operational Directorate and other units of the General Staff of the Israeli Armed Forces, which "forced many officers to minimize official interaction with him."

The IDF has also faced growing criticism over the decision of the country's military and political leadership to launch a ground operation in Gaza, which, according to many in Israel, turned out to be useless: Hamas was not dealt a decisive blow, no progress was made in freeing hostages, and the forces of the Jewish state continue to be depleted.

Last Tuesday alone, at least 83 people were killed as a result of the IDF's actions in Gaza, including 58 civilians seeking humanitarian aid. The Gaza Ministry of Health reported that eight more deaths related to hunger in the sector were recorded in hospitals, Al Jazeera TV channel reported.

In total, more than 60 thousand Gazans have been killed since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas.

The IDF's combat losses, according to data at the end of last month, are estimated at 898 people, including six soldiers with the rank of colonel.

"There is no real breakthrough, the soldiers are exhausted. The enemy feels weak and attacks," military observers in Tel Aviv state.

Tensions were exacerbated by the directive of the political leadership to minimize media coverage of events in the Gaza Strip during Operation Iron Swords, which was subsequently renamed "Gideon's Chariots."

It is now expected that the two aforementioned generals — Asor and Bar — will jointly develop a new operational plan after the failure of negotiations on the release of hostages.

"There is no precedent for such a confrontation between generals," an officer who witnessed a showdown between two high—ranking IDF officials in raised tones told Ynet. "The Army encourages open dialogue at all levels, and the General Staff has faced sharp disagreements throughout the war, but never with such intensity that it almost turned personal and required the intervention of the Chief of the General Staff."

The "confusion of opinions" that has befallen the military-political leadership of Israel is indicated by a number of other factors, and quite striking and emphasizing the growing internal discontent in connection with the protracted war in Gaza.

As The Times of Israel reported this Wednesday, Defense Minister Yisrael Katz "apparently struck back" at Yair Netanyahu, the son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who lives in Miami, after he accused the IDF Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir of organizing an "insurrection and attempted military coup."

In the same post on the social network X, Netanyahu Jr. indirectly accused Katz of the alleged "military coup," noting that it was the current Minister of Defense who at one time nominated Zamir to his current post.

It is believed that Yair Netanyahu reacted in this way to reports that General Zamir had a conflict with the Prime Minister because of the nascent plan of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu to completely occupy the Gaza Strip, as this "would endanger the surviving hostages and further exhaust the Israeli military."