Israel has abandoned its goals of freeing the captives in Gaza, instead seeking to establish a long-term presence with its Rafah ground offensive and pursue top Palestinian leaders, Middle East Eye cited Israeli military officers as saying.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, three officers, one of whom is serving in Gaza, questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strategy in the ongoing war on Gaza, which failed to return captives taken by Hamas in October last year. 

One officer told MEE the Netanyahu cabinet’s aims were unclear and the objective of rescuing captives and destroying Hamas had “collapsed”.

“Netanyahu's operations in Gaza are fundamentally aimed at ... hunting down Yahya Sinwar,” said the officer in Gaza, adding that the war had become “personal” for the Israeli premier.