As war drags on, there are rifts within Israel's leadership over the next steps

Transcript

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The U.S. is leading a call for a summit next week to reach a cease-fire in Gaza. Hamas has not yet responded. Israel says it will attend, but its leadership is divided. And Israelis are bracing themselves for an escalation with Iran. NPR's Daniel Estrin reports from Tel Aviv.

DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: Many Israelis are feeling on edge in a way they haven't since the October 7 Hamas attacks and the first months of the Gaza War.

YAEL RIBAK: Very scared (laughter), waiting, waiting.

ESTRIN: Yael Ribak is in the city of Haifa, not far from Lebanon. Hezbollah in Lebanon and its main sponsor Iran have vowed to retaliate against Israel for last week's assassination of two senior militants.

RIBAK: It's very hard to sleep, to eat.

ESTRIN: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the country is ready for defensive and offensive action against Iran and its proxies. Ribak is not assured.

RIBAK: I have the feeling that now it's like, action, reaction, action, reaction. I can't really believe what the prime minister is saying or promising. I'm actually sure that he's not taking care of us but for his own interests.

ESTRIN: Israel has not taken responsibility publicly for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. The Biden administration has been furious, seeing it as hurting efforts to reach a cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza. Netanyahu is also at odds with his top security chiefs, who are eager to finalize a Gaza cease-fire deal. Yohanan Plesner of the Israel Democracy Institute.

YOHANAN PLESNER: So far, since October 7, we were never in such a point whereby Mr. Netanyahu was on one side, and the whole array of chiefs of our security establishment were on the other side.

ESTRIN: Plesner says Netanyahu has specific security demands, like preventing armed Palestinians from entering north Gaza. Israel's security chiefs want to take the cease-fire deal that's on the table and shift focus to Iran. What complicates the equation is that delaying a cease-fire deal also benefits Netanyahu's own political interests. A hostage deal could topple his government and force him to face a national reckoning for the October 7 attack. In a recent speech, Netanyahu defended his position.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)

PRIME MINSTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: (Speaking Hebrew).

ESTRIN: Netanyahu said, "There's been no week in which they've not told us at home and abroad to end the war. If we had given into this pressure, we would not have eliminated senior Hamas leaders and thousands of terrorists."

Now the U.S., Qatar and Egypt are calling for new cease-fire talks. An Israeli official told NPR there doesn't seem to be a change in Netanyahu's position on the deal, and Hamas' new hard-line leader, Yahya Sinwar, may prefer to delay a deal and see Iran attack and weaken Israel. A U.S. official told reporters if Iran sees a cease-fire on the horizon, it may refrain from attacking.

(CROSSTALK)

ESTRIN: Outside a Jerusalem supermarket, some Israelis think Israel itself should go on the offensive against Iran and its proxies.

SIGAL YAYA: (Speaking Hebrew) Sigal Yaya.

ESTRIN: Sigal Yaya, a Netanyahu supporter, was evacuated from her home near the border with Lebanon when Hezbollah began firing on Israel 10 months ago. And she thinks the only way she'll be able to return home safely is if Hezbollah suffers a blow.

YAYA: (Speaking Hebrew).

ESTRIN: Yaya says, "On the one hand, I don't want anyone to get hurt. But I understand one thing for sure - that without a war, I can't return home. I can't sleep at home in peace."

Daniel Estrin, NPR News, Tel Aviv, with reporting by Shir David and Itay Stern. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.