IN A LONG-TERM planning session on July 21st Lieutenant-General Eyal Zamir, the head of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), told his fellow generals that 2026 would be a year of “preparedness, realising achievements, returning to competency and fundamentals”. In the meeting, the largest since the war in Gaza began nearly 22 months ago, he said the army should be preparing for another war with Iran. General Zamir’s message was not intended just for the officers in the room. He was telling the government and the Israeli public that the IDF’s top brass did not think the Gaza war should continue.