![Israel's newly appointed armed forces chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir (C), visits the Western Wall in the old city of Jerusalem on March 5, 2025. [Menahem KAHANA / AFP / Getty Images]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-2202834520.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Israeli army Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir has reportedly warned that the goals of the Gaza war may be “unachievable” due to a shortage of troops, according to Israeli media reports released on Sunday.
Zamir issued the warning during a recent security consultation, reported by Channel 13, in which he added: “In a full-scale invasion, we may not necessarily reach the hostages; remember, we could lose them.”
The warning coincides with the Israeli army’s announcement on Sunday that it had called up tens of thousands of reservists in preparation for escalating its assault on Gaza, with Zamir confirming in a statement that the army’s objective is to destroy “all Hamas infrastructure.”
“This week, we are calling up tens of thousands of reservists to reinforce and expand our operation in Gaza,” Zamir said, adding: “We are increasing pressure to bring back our hostages and to defeat Hamas. We will operate in other areas and will destroy all their infrastructure, both above and below ground.”
In his warning, Zamir stated, “The Israeli government has set two war objectives: defeating Hamas and recovering the hostages. However, these two goals conflict with each other.”
According to Channel 13, and following Zamir’s statement, disagreements surfaced during the security meeting between security officials and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the military’s plan to broaden its operations in Gaza.
READ: Israel army chief says Gaza war goals ‘unachievable’ amid troop shortage