Israel’s Netanyahu disbands Gaza war cabinet, days after Benny Gantz’s departure
- The war cabinet was formed when Gantz, a Netanyahu rival, joined the coalition in a show of unity following the October 7 Hamas attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved the influential war cabinet tasked with steering the war in Gaza, Israeli officials said Monday, a move that comes days after a key member of the body bolted the government over frustrations surrounding the Israeli leader’s handling of the war.
The move was widely expected following the departure of Benny Gantz, a centrist former military chief, earlier this month. Gantz’s absence from the government makes Netanyahu more dependent on his ultranationalist allies to govern, and the dissolution of the war cabinet underlines that shift as the eight-month-long war in Gaza drags on.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the change with the media, said that going forward, Netanyahu would hold smaller forums with some of his government members on sensitive issues surrounding the war. That includes Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer who had been in the war cabinet, as well as far-right governing partners who oppose ceasefire deals and have voiced support for reoccupying Gaza, are members.
The war cabinet was formed in the early days of the war, when Gantz, then an opposition party leader and a Netanyahu rival, joined the coalition in a show of unity following the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel.
He had demanded that a small decision-making body steer the war, in a bid to sideline far-right members of Netanyahu’s government.
It was made up of three members – Gantz, Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant – and together they made important decisions throughout the course of the war.