Gantz Quits Netanyahu’s Gaza War Cabinet

Last updated on August 7th, 2024 at 04:28 pm

Israeli Minister Benny Gantz has quit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s special Gaza war cabinet.

Gantz announced his resignation from the war cabinet on the evening of Sunday, June 9. In his speech, the Israeli politician criticized Netanyahu’s handling of the ongoing war effort

“Unfortunately, Netanyahu is preventing us from achieving true victory, which is the justification for the painful and ongoing price,” Gantz said. “That is why we are leaving the war cabinet today.”

Gantz and other members of his National Unity party had partnered with the Netanyahu government after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel, as a measure to bridge their prior political divide and work together to prosecute the war and win the return of hostages taken during the attack.

The rift between Gantz and Netanyahu reopened in recent weeks as Gantz demanded the prime minister articulate a concrete plan for post-war control of the Gaza Strip. Gantz had threatened to resign by June 8 if Netanyahu didn’t begin sharing his post-war plans.

Gantz scrapped plans for a June 8 press conference to announce his resignation after Israeli forces carried out a heavily armed military raid in Nuseirat to rescue four people taken captive on Oct. 7.

The Hamas-affiliated Gaza Health Ministry reported some 274 Palestinians were killed and 698 more were wounded during the Israeli military rescue operation in Nuseirat, though the organization does not clearly distinguish combatants from noncombatants. The Associated Press reported Israeli forces called in fire support when one of their rescue vehicles became stuck during the Nuseirat mission, and that militants as well as women and children were included among the Palestinian casualties.

Abu Obaida, a spokesman for Hamas’s militant wing, said other hostages were killed as a result of the Israeli rescue operation in Nuseirat, and that conditions would worsen for other hostages because of the raid.

Gantz’s decision to leave the war cabinet could weaken Netanyahu’s governing coalition. While Netanyahu already had a sufficient governing coalition before Gantz and the National Unity members joined his government on Oct. 11, Gantz’s withdrawal shrinks the margins of that coalition at a time when other members of his coalition are also threatening to pull out.

After President Joe Biden announced an alleged Israeli-drafted Gaza ceasefire plan on May 31, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir both threatened to resign if the plan didn’t fulfill their goal to see Hamas outright eliminated in the course of the war.

In a statement last week, Ben-Gvir said Netanyahu gave assurances that he hadn’t agreed to a peace plan without the defeat of Hamas, and that Biden had simply mischaracterized a plan Israel had put forward. Still, Ben-Gvir said he pressed Netanyahu to show him the exact draft of the peace plan the Israeli prime minister communicated to Biden, but that Netanyahu has yet to divulge those details.

Ben-Gvir demanded on Sunday to take Gantz’s old spot in Netanyahu’s three-man war cabinet, and for Netanyahu to more closely consider the advice of others in his governing coalition.

Netanyahu called for continued unity around his governing coalition on Sunday as Gantz signified his resignation.

“This is not the time to abandon the campaign – this is the time to join forces,” Netanyahu said.

The prime minister added he would welcome “any Zionist party” willing to support his efforts to defeat Hamas and bring home the remaining Oct. 7 hostages.

Hamas and other Palestinian militants took around 250 people captive during the Oct. 7 attacks. Hamas unilaterally released four hostages in October. They released 105 more hostages during a temporary ceasefire in November, in exchange for the release of around 240 Palestinians who Israel had held.

Israeli forces have rescued three other hostages in armed raids in October and February.

Another hostage, Sahar Baruch, was killed during an exchange of fire as Israeli forces attempted to rescue him on Dec. 8.

Israeli forces shot and killed three more hostages as they conducted operations in northern Gaza on Dec. 15. An Israeli military internal investigation concluded those three hostages went shirtless in an attempt to signify they were not hiding weapons, and waved a white cloth to signify surrender. Still, the Israeli military concluded its troops fired on the three hostages in the heat of the moment as they battled with militants in the area.

Hamas has claimed several other hostages have been killed as a result of Israeli strikes throughout the embattled Gaza Strip.