The Israel Defense Forces’ top attorney has reportedly warned leaders that Israel will become responsible for a broad range of civilian affairs in Gaza if it proceeds with conquering the whole enclave.
The Haaretz daily reported Monday, citing anonymous sources, that Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi raised a range of concerns relating to the government’s plan to conquer Gaza City. She said it could open Israel up to even greater international legal pressure, and that the military must make sure it’s operating in accordance with the laws of war.
She also reportedly said that if Israel moves to take over such heavily populated areas of Gaza — and displaces their residents en masse — it would be obligated to provide for those civilians’ welfare.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he would increase the amount of aid entering the Strip. But the Haaretz report said that according to Tomer-Yerushalmi, Israel would also be responsible for civilian government functions including education, healthcare and infrastructure.
At present, the roughly 75% of Gaza that Israel controls holds relatively few civilians, which, Haaretz said, means that there are fewer legal complexities involved. A source told Haaretz that Tomer-Yerushalmi will “present the implications to the chief of staff,” IDF Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.
Her warning echoes comments made by Opposition Leader Yair Lapid last week, as Netanyahu’s government was moving forward with the Gaza City plan. Lapid said the plan puts the hostages held by Hamas, as well as IDF soldiers, at risk.
“In exchange, we’ll be ruling over two million Palestinians — paying for their electricity and water, building them schools and hospitals with Israeli taxpayers’ money,” Lapid said. “You annex — you pay. From that moment, everything is on us.”
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara attends a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on April 27, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The Haaretz report added that Tomer-Yerushalmi, like Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, has faced attacks from the right for her work. The cabinet has voted to fire Baharav-Miara, a step that was frozen by the High Court while reviewing its legality, and Haaretz said that if she or Tomer-Yerushalmi are pushed out, it would weaken Israel’s adherence to international law and could end up exposing soldiers to prosecution.
“In the end, we want the best people to be those who can keep IDF soldiers and commanders free of lawsuits and arrests in foreign countries, even long after the war,” a senior official told Haaretz.
In June, after the right-leaning Channel 14 aired a report suggesting a Tomer-Yerushalmi ruling was to blame for four soldiers’ deaths, Zamir condemned the “false, repeated, and baseless attacks regarding the conduct of the Military Advocate General.”
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