Military Cabinet Member of Israel accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition on Wednesday of failing amid the Gaza war. This prompted a rebuke from Netanyahu's Likud party as political divisions deepened.
Gadi Eisenkot, a war cabinet observer, said Netanyahu had failed on security and the economy and called for elections by the end of the year.
The former military chief, whose youngest son was killed in fighting in the Gaza Strip in December, said Netanyahu was misleading citizens with slogans of "total victory" against "Hamas" instead of being honest about the complexities of the eight month war in Gaza.
"Anyone who says we will disband a few battalions in Rafah and then return the hostages is sowing a false illusion, he said. It will take three to five years to stabilize Gaza and then many more years to build an alternative to Hamas.
He said Netanyahu had failed to fulfill his most important campaign promises for 2022, including halting Iran's nuclear program, formalizing diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia and strengthening the economy.
Israel launched an air and ground offensive in Gaza last October, vowing to destroy the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. However, experts doubt whether this is possible.
In a statement on Telegram, the party "Likud" said Eisenkot and Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Netanyahu's main rival, were looking for excuses to leave the coalition at the height of the war.
"Instead of chasing victory, they engage in petty politics," Likud said.
It is just the latest row in the coalition, raising questions about how long Israel's wartime government could survive. Netanyahu is facing conflicting demands from coalition members and is under international pressure, including from top ally the United States.
More than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's assault on Gaza, the blockaded enclave's health ministry said, and thousands more are trapped under the rubble.
Earlier in May, Gantz threatened to withdraw his center-right party from the conservative prime minister's extended emergency coalition by June 8 if Netanyahu did not offer clarity on post-war plans for Gaza.
Gantz has helped widen support for the government in Israel and abroad, but if he steps down, the prime minister would still command a majority in parliament with the support of ultra-nationalist parties.
Most of its 2.3 million people have been displaced and are experiencing a humanitarian disaster, as humanitarian organizations report widespread malnutrition and a collapsed health system.
The war began after the "Hamas" militants attacked southern Israeli communities on October 7, calling for an end to the Israeli occupation, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures. About 120 hostages remain in Gaza.
"Hamas" will probably not be fully defeated for another seven months, Israel's national security adviser said, underscoring the difficulties the country is having in crushing the Islamist group in Gaza.
"We have another seven months of fighting to deepen the achievement and achieve what we define as the destruction of the governmental and military capacity of "Hamas" and Islamic Jihad," Tsachi Hanegbi said Wednesday in an interview with state-run Kan radio.