TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that he had dissolved his government’s war cabinet — the emergency panel that has managed the war in Gaza so far — a week after two of its centrist members resigned in protest.
The war cabinet was seen as a way to exclude far-right ministers in the governing coalition. Netanyahu may continue to discuss general matters with the wider security cabinet, but he “will hold smaller forums for sensitive matters,” according to Israeli officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The smaller forums are expected to include Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi and the chairman of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Aryeh Deri, as well as representatives of the military establishment.
Over the past nine months of combat in Gaza, Netanyahu has rebuffed several attempts by the extremist members of his coalition, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, to join the discussions, according to Israeli media reports.
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Ben Gvir and Smotrich have for months pressured Netanyahu to oppose a cease-fire plan that would involve the release of Israel’s remaining 120 hostages in Hamas captivity, at least dozens of whom are still believed to be alive.
They have insisted Netanyahu keep his original promise to achieve “total victory” against Hamas after the organization carried out a surprise attack against Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 250 hostage. They have also pushed for Israeli reoccupation of the Gaza Strip — a policy move that Israeli defense leaders staunchly oppose.
On Monday, Ben Gvir tweeted that Netanyahu’s decision to implement daily pauses in fighting in Gaza, to allow for the movement of aid trucks through the enclave and potentially set the stage for the wind-down of combat, was not brought before the security cabinet and was decided by someone who is “stupid and ignorant, who must not be allowed to continue in his position.”
Ben Gvir and Smotrich’s continued influence, even from outside the war cabinet, was partly the reason for the resignation of war cabinet members Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot last week. The two centrists said that, days after the unprecedented Oct. 7 Hamas assault, they joined the cabinet to ensure the war was conducted responsibly, but that they have since concluded Netanyahu poses insurmountable obstacles by refusing to commit to a day-after strategy for Gaza.
The fighting, especially in the southern Rafah region of Gaza, has created a humanitarian crisis that Israel is under international pressure to address.
The IDF is moving closer to a larger war with Hezbollah, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israeli military, said in a video message Sunday. Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified in recent weeks at the Lebanese border. “Hezbollah’s increasing aggression is bringing us to the brink of what could be a wider escalation — one that could have devastating consequences for Lebanon and the entire region,” Hagari said. After an Israeli strike killed a Hezbollah commander last week, a Hezbollah official said the militant group would retaliate with increased operations “in intensity, strength, quantity and quality.”
At least 37,347 people have been killed and 85,372 injured in Gaza since the war started, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says the majority of the dead are women and children. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, including more than 300 soldiers, and it says 311 soldiers have been killed since the launch of its military operations in Gaza.
Melnick reported from London. Lior Soroka contributed to this report.
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