Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu fires defence minister Yoav Gallant

The dramatic move came after months of public disagreement between the two over the course of the war with the PM saying he was firing Gallant due to a breakdown in trust and gaps in positions between them.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, at a time when the country continues to fight wars in Gaza and Lebanon, and is increasingly in direct confrontation with Iran.

The move on Tuesday came after months of public disagreement between the two over the course of the war. Netanyahu said he was firing Gallant due to a breakdown in trust and gaps in positions between them.

Gallant has publicly challenged Netanyahu’s failure to decide on a plan for Gaza’s long-term governance and for not prioritizing a deal to release Israeli and other hostages held in Gaza.

“In the past months, trust has been cracked between myself and the defense minister,” Netanyahu said Tuesday in a statement released by his office.

Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv last week. Picture: AFP

Foreign Minister Israel Katz will replace Gallant as defence minister. The change will happen within the next 48 hours, Netanyahu said in a terse, three-line letter to Gallant released by the prime minister’s office. Gideon Sa’ar, a former Netanyahu ally-turned-rival who rejoined the coalition in recent weeks, will replace Katz as foreign minister.

“The security of Israel has and will always be my life’s mission,” Mr Gallant posted on social media shortly after the announcement.

Thousands of protesters flooded into streets in response to the news, gathering outside Tel Aviv’s military headquarters and in other cities across the country.

Mr Gallant later stressed ­Israel’s “moral and ethical commitment to bringing back our sons and daughters, those kidnapped by Hamas”. “We must do this as quickly as possible while they are still alive,” he said in a televised statement. “It is possible to bring back the hostages, but it involves painful compromises. The state of Israel will know how to withstand these compromises, and the IDF will know how to secure them.

“We will not be able to bring back those who have already died among the hostages. There is no atonement for the abandonment of the hostages.”

He also brought up the issue of military service, at a time when analysts say soldiers are exhausted after more than a year of fighting. “Everyone must serve in the IDF and participate together in the mission of defending the state of Israel,” he said.

“We must not allow a corrupt and flawed law to pass in the Knesset that would exempt tens of thousands of citizens from bearing the burden.” He was referring to members of the ultra-Orthodox community who were exempted from mandatory service until a Supreme Court decision in June.

Mr Gallant’s ouster could have wide-ranging impacts on Israel’s multi-front war and US efforts to end it. He has been the anchor of the relationship with the US and the most vocal advocate of the Biden administration’s efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.

Tension between the US ­administration and Mr Netanyahu has grown in recent months over the Prime Minister’s hard-line position in the talks and for a series of provocative military ­actions undertaken without much notice to the US. Mr Gallant has been a shock-absorber in the relationship, speaking more than 80 times with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin over the duration of the wars.

Until his dismissal, Mr Gallant also was the only cabinet member apart from Mr Netanyahu with ­serious decision-making authority over the war’s conduct.

Mr Gallant and Mr Netanyahu are both members of Israel’s conservative Likud party. But relations between them have been poor for months, with the men barely on speaking terms, people familiar with the matter have said. Mr Gallant has criticised the Prime Minister in meetings, parliamentary appearances and even news conferences.

Mr Katz will be a key decision-maker in how far to take the fight in Lebanon now that Hezbollah has been hobbled and much of its infrastructure near the border ­destroyed, but remains able to inflict pain should Israel’s troops move deeper into the country.

Similarly in Gaza, Israeli troops have badly damaged Hamas, which led the October 7 attacks that triggered the war in Gaza.

The biggest challenge could come from Iran. The two foes have exchanged fire directly in multiple rounds over the past seven months, most recently with a strike by Israel last month that did significant damage to Iran’s air defence capabilities and missile production capabilities. Iran has threatened a harsh response, and Israel has threatened to retaliate forcibly to any new attack.

The Wall Street Journal