Netanyahu Dissolves War Cabinet After Gantz Departure

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed his security cabinet Sunday night that the war cabinet, a small forum created on October 11 to manage the campaigns against Hamas and Hezbollah, has been officially dissolved.

The establishment of the war cabinet was a key demand of National Unity party chair Benny Gantz when he joined the coalition shortly after the war began in October. The cabinet included just three voting ministers: Netanyahu, Gantz, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

However, National Unity Chair Benny Gantz and his party left the coalition last week. In light of this, Netanyahu told the Security Cabinet that there was no longer a need for the war cabinet since Gantz had departed.

The dissolution had been anticipated, and most observers see it as Netanyahu’s strategy to deflect demands by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party) to join the war cabinet.

Netanyahu has navigated a delicate balancing act throughout the war, managing pressure from Israel’s top ally, the U.S., and growing global opposition to the conflict, while also addressing demands from his government partners, particularly Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.

Both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich are members of the larger security cabinet. Netanyahu in the past had previously withheld some sensitive information from the security cabinet due to concerns about leaks.

Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have criticized the war cabinet in recent months, arguing it was not acting aggressively enough against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border. Both have advocated for a full-scale invasion into southern Lebanon, including capturing territory.

Members of both Ben-Gvir’s and Smotrich’s parties announced on Monday that they will convene the Knesset caucus on Jewish resettlement of Gaza on Tuesday. This move directly conflicts with Netanyahu’s public statements that this is not Israel’s policy.

The war in Gaza began on October 7 when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. In response, Israel launched a military offensive with the declared goals of dismantling Hamas and bringing the hostages home.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry reports that over 37,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far. This toll, which cannot be independently verified and does not differentiate between terrorists and civilians, includes approximately 15,000 terror operatives that Israel claims to have killed in battle. Israel also states it killed about 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.

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