Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has quit the emergency government in a sign of deepening divisions over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s post-conflict plans for Gaza.
Speaking during a news conference in Tel Aviv on Sunday where he announced his resignation, Mr Gantz said the decision was made with a heavy heart
He said he was not only personally resigning from the government, but also withdrawing from the National Unity party that he chairs.
Mr Netanyahu addressing Mr Gantz responded with a post on X saying, this was not the time to quit the campaign, but a time to join forces.
Current opposition leader Yair Lapid backed Mr Gantz’s decision as important and right on social media.
Immediately after the announcement, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir demanded a place in the war cabinet.
Mr Ben-Gvir is part of a right-wing coalition that has threatened to quit and collapse the government if Israel accepts a ceasefire proposal put forward by US President Joe Biden.
In a separate development, Israel’s army announced the resignation of a senior commander who headed the IDF’s Gaza division, over what he called his failure to prevent the 7 October attacks.
Brigadier General Avi Rosenfeld is the first IDF combat commander to step down since the attacks