NYT Investigation: PRIME MINISTER Netanyahu Shelved Gaza Truce Plan to Preserve Political Power

Six months into the war in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was preparing to halt hostilities. A cease-fire agreement, negotiated through Egyptian mediators, was on the table. The plan, if enacted, would have paused fighting for at least six weeks, led to the release of more than 30 hostages, and opened the door to peace talks with Hamas — and potentially to a historic normalization deal with Saudi Arabia.

But in a high-stakes cabinet meeting in April 2024, Netanyahu abruptly shelved the plan — not for military reasons, but political ones.

A Plan Concealed, Then Abandoned

Netanyahu had intentionally kept the truce proposal off the meeting’s official agenda. The idea was to unveil it suddenly, before far-right ministers in his fragile coalition could organize opposition. But as the meeting progressed, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich — a longtime opponent of any territorial compromise in Gaza — interrupted with a threat.

“I want you to know that if a surrender agreement like this is brought forward, you no longer have a government,” Smotrich said. “The government is finished.”

Faced with a clear ultimatum, Netanyahu chose to deny the existence of the plan altogether.

“No, no, there’s no such thing,” he said — and whispered to his aides, “Don’t present the plan.”

What Was at Stake

The cease-fire proposal would have created space for negotiations toward a permanent truce. It promised immediate humanitarian relief for Gaza’s nearly two million civilians and the return of dozens of Israeli hostages. More significantly, it could have facilitated the long-sought normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia — a strategic and diplomatic prize unmatched since the country’s founding.

Instead, Netanyahu’s decision allowed the war to continue. In the months that followed, the conflict expanded to Lebanon, Syria, and ultimately Iran. Civilian deaths in Gaza climbed above 55,000, including nearly 10,000 children under age 11. And while Israel decapitated much of Hamas’s leadership, it failed to achieve a decisive conclusion to the war.

The Political Price of Peace

According to interviews with more than 110 officials from Israel, the U.S., and Arab governments — and a review of internal government documents, war records, and intelligence reports — Netanyahu’s political calculations repeatedly overrode military advice.

The Prime Minister, still on trial for corruption since 2020, relied on far-right coalition partners to stay in office. These allies supported long-term occupation of Gaza and opposed any cease-fire that did not result in Hamas’s total annihilation. Their influence constrained Netanyahu’s decision-making and delayed efforts to end the conflict.

“Netanyahu faced a choice: peace or power,” said one senior Israeli official familiar with the April deliberations. “He chose power.”

A Delayed Reckoning

While Netanyahu was widely praised inside Israel for leading the June 2025 strike on Iran, a reckoning is mounting over his handling of Gaza. The war, which began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 hostages, is now the longest in Israel’s history.

What began as a moment of unity has morphed into international condemnation. The International Court of Justice is weighing genocide allegations. President Biden’s failure to rein in Israel fractured the Democratic Party and contributed to Donald Trump’s return to office. At home, Israeli society remains bitterly divided — over the war’s cost, its goals, and Netanyahu’s legitimacy.

Ignored Warnings, Lost Opportunities

Documents obtained by The New York Times show that Israel’s military intelligence warned months before Oct. 7 that internal divisions were weakening the country’s deterrence. A July 2023 memo from Brig. Gen. Amit Saar concluded:

“The deepening of the internal crisis further erodes Israel’s image, exacerbates the damage to deterrence and increases the likelihood of escalation.”

Top officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief Herzi Halevi, repeatedly tried to raise alarm. Netanyahu ignored them. He even fired Gallant briefly in March 2023 after a public warning — only to reinstate him under pressure.

By the time the October attack came, Hamas and its allies had interpreted Israel’s domestic instability as a green light to strike.

Frm Political Collapse to Resurrection

At the war’s onset, Netanyahu’s political future seemed doomed. But he leveraged the crisis to regain dominance, ultimately stalling investigations into his own responsibility for intelligence and policy failures.

While key military and intelligence leaders have resigned or been dismissed, Netanyahu has remained in office, shielding himself from inquiry. His coalition has survived repeated challenges, and his government is now moving to oust the attorney general overseeing his trial.

“Netanyahu pulled off a political resurrection that no one — not even his closest allies — thought possible,” said Srulik Einhorn, a longtime political strategist in Netanyahu’s inner circle. “His leadership through a prolonged war with Hamas and a bold strike on Iran has reshaped the political map.”

Conclusion: A War That Could Have Ended

Despite caveats about the complexity of war, the findings of this investigation are stark:

• Netanyahu strengthened Hamas in the years before the war by tolerating its rule in Gaza to divide the Palestinian factions.

• His judicial overhaul fractured Israeli society and weakened military cohesion.

• Once war began, his decisions extended the conflict beyond what military leaders deemed necessary.

The costs have been staggering: tens of thousands of lives, eight more hostages lost in captivity, delayed peace with Saudi Arabia, and Israel’s growing isolation abroad. Yet the rewards for Netanyahu have been immediate: political survival, expanded power, and a potential path to reelection in 2026.