The military’s chief on Thursday touted a culture of open debate in the Israel Defense Forces, amid preparation for a security cabinet meeting that evening in which he is expected to warn against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to conquer and occupy the entire Gaza Strip.

The plan is reportedly aimed at destroying what remains of the Hamas terror group and pressuring it to free the 50 hostages still held in Gaza — 20 of whom are believed to be alive — after negotiations for a ceasefire deal broke down.

Many of the hostages’ families have decried the proposal in recent days, pointing to warnings by IDF brass that it would put their loved ones at risk. As part of their protest movement, some relatives briefly set sail in the direction of Gaza on Thursday, demanding “international assistance” to rescue their loved ones.

The Netanyahu-backed Gaza occupation plan would reportedly begin with taking over Gaza City, in the north of the Strip, as well as camps in the central Strip, driving around half of the enclave’s population southward toward the Mawasi humanitarian zone.

Despite a few ministers potentially opposing the plan, reports have said Netanyahu will likely secure a majority within the high-level security cabinet to support the proposal when it convenes at 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Speaking during an assessment with the military’s top brass on Thursday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said: “A culture of disagreement is an inseparable part of the history of the people of Israel; it is a vital component of the Israel Defense Forces’ organizational culture, both internally and externally.”

“We will continue to express our positions without fear, in a substantive, independent, and professional manner,” he added.

Zamir has reportedly clashed repeatedly with the cabinet in recent days over the government’s move to expand the war in Gaza.

According to Hebrew media reports, he warned that “occupying the Strip would drag Israel into a black hole — taking responsibility for two million Palestinians, requiring a yearslong clearing operation, exposing soldiers to guerrilla warfare and, most dangerously, jeopardizing the hostages.”

Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office have suggested that if Zamir objects to the plan to occupy Gaza, he can resign as IDF chief.

“We are not dealing with theory; we are dealing with matters of life and death, with the defense of the state, and we do so while looking directly into the eyes of our soldiers and the citizens of the country,” Zamir said during the Thursday morning assessment, the army said.

According to Zamir, the IDF is “now approaching the final stages” of the military offensive against Hamas that was launched in May, which was more limited than the proposal now on the table.

“We have met and even exceeded the operation’s objectives, and we continue to act to ensure long-term security for the communities in the south,” he said.

“We intend to defeat and collapse Hamas. We will continue to act with our hostages in mind, and we will do everything to bring them home,” Zamir added.

Hostage’s mother calls for protests outside cabinet meeting

Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is being held hostage in Gaza, called on Israelis to protest outside the cabinet meeting Thursday night, saying Israel is reaching “the point of no return” for a hostage release deal.

The captive’s mother, one of the most prominent figures in the protests calling for a deal, wrote on X that Netanyahu promised her he would pursue a deal to free the hostages, “but took advantage of my pain, of the families, of the whole hurt nation [and] killed the deal.”

“Someone who talks about a comprehensive deal doesn’t go and conquer the Strip and put hostages and soldiers in danger,” she wrote.

“Netanyahu and his partners are about to condemn [Matan] to death,” she added in a video statement, calling for protesters to “flood the streets of the nation starting tonight.”

In a separate statement, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum urged Zamir to stand up against the plan, but stopped short of joining Zangauker’s call for protests.

“Chief of staff, we are asking you to stand strong. You are the supreme commander. Don’t consent to endanger our loved ones,” it said in a statement.

The group said public sentiment supports a deal that will free all 50 hostages, including at least 28 confirmed by Israeli authorities to have been killed. “Any other decision will be clearly inhumane and spell disaster for the hostages and the whole of Israel,” the group said.

“The families of the hostages call on IDF commanders at all levels not to act in a way that will endanger hostages’ lives and block the possibility of the return of the bodies,” the statement read.

Hostage families briefly sail toward Gaza

Meanwhile, some hostages’ relatives briefly set sail on Thursday in a flotilla they said would allow them to approach the Gaza Strip and get close to their loved ones.

“A boat carrying families of hostages has just departed to sea, heading south to get as close as possible to their loved ones,” the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.

More than 20 people boarded several sailboats that departed from the coastal city of Ashkelon carrying yellow flags and posters bearing the images of the hostages, as they shouted their names.

Speaking in English through a megaphone, Yehuda Cohen, whose son Nimrod is being held captive in Gaza, shouted: “Mayday, mayday, mayday. We need all international assistance to rescue the 50 hostages who are nearly two years held by the hand of Hamas.”

“Please, we need international help,” Cohen added.

According to marine tracker data for one of the boats in the flotilla, the vessel sailed some 2 nautical miles away from Ashkelon before turning back, and never reached closer than 5 nautical miles from Gaza’s waters.

The ongoing war in Gaza started with the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, massacre, in which some 5,600 terrorists invaded Israel, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages to the enclave.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 60,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.