Israel's Chief of Defense, Yoav Gallant, said that Israel has no plan of action for what's to follow once Hamas is removed from Gaza.
Amid heightening tensions in Israel regarding the course of the war, the defense minister has accused Israeli leaders of dismissing his requests to discuss a replacement to Hamas rule in Gaza.
"Since October, I have been raising this issue consistently in the Cabinet, and have received no response," Gallant said in his live speech.
"The 'day after Hamas' will only be achieved with Palestinian entities taking control of Gaza, accompanied by international players, and establishing a governing alternative to Hamas' rule," he added.
"Unfortunately, the plan was not brought up for discussion, and worse, an alternative discussion was not raised in its place."
The discourse over the "day after" in Gaza came about when Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari was asked at a news conference Tuesday whether Israeli troops had been sent to seize areas of Gaza they had initially retreated from because there were no governing replacement to Hamas, reported NPR.
Hagari stated that a successor for Hamas could pressure the militant group, but that it was a question for Israel's leaders.
Meanwhile, in a video released by his office on Wednesday, Netanyahu said that discussions about a "day-after" strategy are pointless until Hamas is annihilated and that some of Israel's efforts to replace Hamas are under wraps.
Several hard-right members of Netanyahu's governing coalition called for Gallant's resignation.
The notion comes after Gallant, a member of Netanyahu's Likud party, challenged the prime minister in March of last year when calling on him to drop plans that aim to weaken Israel's judiciary powers.
As a result, Netanyahu relieved Gallant of his duties but was forced to reinstate the defense minister when massive street protests erupted.
With Netanyahu lacking to declare a solid plan for replacing Hamas, several thousand Israeli settlers and their supporters, including senior ministers in his own government, rallied Tuesday for Israel to build Jewish settlements atop the ruins of Gaza's destroyed cities and to encourage Palestinians to emigrate.
"It's either us or them. We have to clear out Gaza," said Chanie Luz, an Israeli originally from Queens, NY.
"There's a lot of room in the world for the people of Gaza. They can be absorbed in any country in the world. They cannot stay here. We can't live with them. They want to kill us."
When asked whether she was prepared to settle in Gaza, she said, "I would love to build a vacation village on the coast of Gaza. I love the sea."
