The idea that it is possible to destroy Hamas, to make Hamas vanish — that is throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Read Adm. Daniel Hagari said Wednesday in an interview with Israel’s Channel 13.

Hagari’s comments prompted a terse response from Netanyahu’s office, which said Israel’s security cabinet “has defined the destruction of Hamas’ military and governing capabilities” as one of the aims of its war in Gaza.

“The IDF, of course, is committed to this,” Netanyahu’s office said.

The IDF later sought to clarify Hagari’s remarks, confirming it is committed to the government’s war goals and claiming that Hagari was only referring to Hamas “as an ideology and as an idea.”

Despite the IDF’s attempt to soften Hagari’s remarks, cracks appear to be deepening between the Israeli government and its military.