Netanyahu has drawn the ire of Israel’s military chiefs by delaying the invasion of Gaza to eliminate Hamas, with western allies in the EU pushing for a ceasefire.

Israel’s Prime Minister clashed with leading figures in the country’s defence forces over his decision to delay the incursion, which his military chiefs are said to be eager to start, the Telegraph reports.

Meanwhile some members states within the European Union have pushed for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and terror group Hamas in order to deliver more humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said he backed a call by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a ‘humanitarian pause’, and added that it would give leaders more time to negotiate the release of the more than 200 hostages held captive by Hamas.

EU officials also drafted a statement in support of the proposal for an EU summit this Thursday and Friday.

The EU’s stance is at odds with the UK and the US, which have both ruled out calling for a ceasefire until all the hostages taken by Hamas are released. 

Meanwhile, Israel’s military said on Monday it was preparing for ‘unrelenting attacks’ to dismantle Hamas. Netanyahu – who is yet to announced a full ground invasion – is said to have clashed with his defense chiefs who are eager to launch the assault.

Israel’s Prime Minister (right) clashed with leading figures in the country’s defence forces over his decision to delay the incursion, which his military chiefs are said to be eager to start

Meanwhile the European Union has pushed for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and terror group Hamas in order to deliver more humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip (pictured after buildings were hit by the Israeli military) 

 Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said he backed a call by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a ‘humanitarian pause’, and added that it would give leaders more time to negotiate the release of the more than 200 hostages held captive by Hamas (pictured: Israeli soldiers preparing for ground maneuvers against Hamas)

After a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, Borrell said there was ‘basic consensus’ on a pause. But diplomats from three EU countries, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that was not their impression of the meeting.

The divergence raised the prospect of diplomatic wrangling in the coming days to agree a text acceptable to all the bloc’s 27 national leaders, to be signed off at the summit.

Diplomats said there was consensus on the need to ramp up humanitarian aid, reflecting widespread alarm about the fate of Palestinian civilians after two weeks of Israel bombarding and blockading Gaza in response to the October 7 Hamas assault that killed 1,400 people and took more than 200 hostage.

More than 5,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes, according to the enclave’s health ministry, and about 1.4 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million population are now internally displaced, according to the United Nations.

But EU countries had yet to agree on the best way to increase the flow of aid and some were concerned a pause could curb Israel’s right to defend itself, diplomats said.

Among the EU’s political heavyweights, France has backed a pause while Germany has so far not done so.

Elizabeth Borne, the French prime minister, called for a ‘humanitarian truce’ to deliver more aid to civilians in Gaza. 

Two aid convoys – one of 20 trucks, the other of 14 – entered Gaza over the weekend from Egypt at the Rafah crossing, according to officials. But Borrell said 100 such trucks would normally go into Gaza even before the war.

‘Now the most important thing is for humanitarian support to go into Gaza,’ Borrell told reporters in Luxembourg.

Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Slovenia and Luxembourg have also publicly backed the idea of a humanitarian pause.

General view of buildings which were destroyed during Israeli air raids in the southern Gaza Strip on October 23

Khaled Meshaal has claimed that the civilian hostages in Gaza will be freed if Israel meets the right conditions

EU members have called for a ceasefire to allow more humanitarian aid to be brought in to the Gaza Strip (pictured here after buildings were destroyed during Israeli air raids)

‘There’s a vital need to get water, to get food, to get medical supplies into Gaza,’ said Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin. ‘The degree of human suffering is immense. We have to distinguish between the civilians of Gaza and Hamas.’

But some ministers, such as Austria’s Alexander Schallenberg and Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipa, questioned the viability of the proposal, while others avoided taking a public stance.

The divergence in views broadly reflected longstanding differences within the EU over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with those seen as more sympathetic to Palestinians pushing for a pause while staunch allies of Israel were more reluctant.

Asked why Germany had not backed calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said recent days had shown the importance of getting aid into Gaza but had also made clear that Hamas was continuing to attack Israel.

‘We’ve all seen that the terrorism continues non-stop, that massive rocket attacks against Israel are taking place,’ she said. ‘We can’t end the humanitarian catastrophe when the terrorism from Gaza continues.’

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak echoed Baerbock’s concerns by saying it would be ‘difficult’ to argue for a ceasefire since Israel had the right to defend itself.

Sunak told the House of Commons: ‘It is difficult to tell Israel to have a ceasefire when it is still facing rocket fire on an almost daily basis, and when its citizens are still being held hostage and it has suffered an appalling terrorist attack where it has a right to defend itself.’ 

US President Joe Biden said that any discussions about a Gaza ceasefire could only take place if Hamas frees all hostages seized from Israel in its October 7 attack.

‘We should have those hostages released and then we can talk,’ Biden said at a White House event when asked if he would support a ‘hostages-for-ceasefire’ deal.

His comments came shortly after Hamas said they had freed two more women hostages abducted from Israel.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that ‘we welcome today’s today’s release of two Israeli citizens held hostage by Hamas.’

Chilling footage released on Monday evening showed Yochved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper, 79, being handed over to the Red Cross at the Rafah crossing by black-clad masked gunmen

Judith Tai Raanan and her daughter Natalie Shoshana Raanan arrived back in Israel late on Friday, the Israeli government confirmed

‘We continue to do everything possible to secure the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza,’ Sullivan said on X, formerly Twitter.

Elderly Israeli hostages Yocheved Lifschitz, 85, and Nurit Cooper, 79, were handed over to the Red Cross at the Rafah crossing with Egypt last night.

Yocheved’s daughter, British academic Sharone Lifschitz, 52, said she could ‘not put into words’ how ‘relieved’ she felt. 

American mother and daughter Judith and Natalie Raanan were also freed on Friday.

Israel on Monday increased the number of confirmed hostages to 222 people seized when Hamas gunmen crossed the border and attacked kibbutz communities, towns and military bases in southern Israel.

Israeli officials say the Hamas militants killed 1,400 people in the nation’s worst-ever attack.

Israel hit back with a blistering bombing campaign which Gaza’s Hamas-run health authority says has now killed more than 5,000 people.