IDF’s Top Lawyer Warns Gaza Push Could Backfire on Israel
Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi told closed forums that further territorial gains could heighten international pressure, trigger new legal obligations, and require Israel to take full civilian control of additional areas.
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Israel’s Chief Military Prosecutor, Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, has privately warned that expanding military operations in the Gaza Strip could carry major consequences under international law. According to a report in Haaretz, she urged the IDF to ensure that all operational plans comply fully with the laws of war.
Tomer-Yerushalmi noted that capturing more territory and forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into smaller areas would intensify diplomatic and legal pressure on Israel, undermining the legitimacy granted by certain countries for continuing the campaign.
She further explained that taking control of populated areas beyond the roughly 75 percent of Gaza already held by Israeli forces would obligate Israel to manage civilian affairs there, including humanitarian aid, food, water, education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized her comments, urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to be swayed by what he called IDF briefings aimed at blocking plans to capture Gaza.
“It is time for the Chief of Staff and the Military Prosecutor to understand that in a democratic state it is the political echelon that makes decisions, even if they involve conquest and defeating the enemy,” Ben-Gvir said.