Benjamin Netanyahu dissolves war cabinet

Israel's war cabinet meets following Iran's drone attack in April - Anadolu via Getty Images

Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved Israel’s war cabinet after opposition leader Benny Gantz resigned.

The Israeli prime minister is now expected to hold consultations about the conflict in Gaza with a small group of ministers, including Yoav Gallant, the defence minister, who has also been critical of the war planning.

The six-member war cabinet was formed after Mr Gantz joined Mr Netanyahu in a national unity government in the wake of Hamas’s Oct 7 attack on Israel. It also included Gadi Eisenkot, a member of Mr Gantz’s party, and Aryeh Deri, head of the religious party Shas, as observers.

Benjamin Netanyahu, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz - via REUTERS

Mr Gantz and Mr Eisenkot both left the government last week, over what they said was Netanyahu’s failure to form a strategy for the Gaza war.

It is a further blow to Mr Netanyahu, who has become increasingly isolated following criticism from international partners over the war in Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu has faced demands from his national-religious coalition partners, including finance minister Bezalel Smotrich and national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, to be included in the war cabinet, a move which would have further strained relations with allies including the United States.

Prime minister clashes with military over aid

The disbanding of the war cabinet comes as Mr Netanyahu is facing a row with his own armed forces.

On Sunday he criticised the military’s plans to hold daily tactical pauses in fighting along one of the main roads into Gaza in order to facilitate aid deliveries.

The military had announced the daily pauses would last from 0500 GMT until 1600 GMT in the area from the Kerem Shalom Crossing to the Salah al-Din Road and then northwards.

“When the prime minister heard the reports of an 11-hour humanitarian pause in the morning, he turned to his military secretary and made it clear that this was unacceptable to him,” an Israeli official said.

The military clarified that normal operations would continue in Rafah, the main focus of its operation in southern Gaza, where eight soldiers were killed on Saturday.

Benjamin Netanyahu has become increasingly isolated as Israel's war in Gaza has continued

The reaction from Mr Netanyahu underlined political tensions over the issue of aid coming into Gaza, where international organisations have warned of a growing humanitarian crisis.

Mr Ben-Gvir denounced the idea of a tactical pause, saying that whoever had decided it was a “fool” who should lose their job.

Divisions were laid bare last week in a parliamentary vote on a law on conscripting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military, with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant voting against it in defiance of party orders, saying it was insufficient for the needs of the military.

Religious parties in the coalition have strongly opposed conscription for the ultra-Orthodox, drawing widespread anger from many Israelis.

Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, the head of the military, said on Sunday there was a “definite need” to recruit more soldiers from the fast-growing ultra-Orthodox community.

Despite growing international pressure, an ceasefire appears a distant prospect.

More than eight months on from the Oct 7 attack, in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed, Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health ministry figures.

Although opinion polls suggest most Israelis support the government’s aim of destroying Hamas, there have been widespread protests attacking the government for not doing more to bring home around 120 hostages who remain in Gaza after being taken on Oct. 7.

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