The Israeli premier, Binyamin Netanyahu, has disbanded his war cabinet consisting of six members, according to an Israeli official. The highly anticipated action follows Benny Gantz, a former military general and centrist, leaving the government.
Netanyahu is predicted to engage in discussions regarding the Gaza conflict with a subset of his ministers, who remain part of his team. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, who were initially part of the war cabinet, are among these ministers.
However, as Netanyahu is pressured by his rightist-religious co-partners in the coalition, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and the Minister for National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, to be a part of the war cabinet, this could potentially exacerbate the strain on international partnerships, especially the United States.
This cabinet was formed after Netanyahu and Gantz combined their forces to create a national unity government at the onset of the Gaza war in October, bringing under its aegis Gadi Eisenkot and Aryeh Deri, leader of the religious faction, Shas, as spectators.
Both Gantz and Eisenkot exited the government previously in the week, criticising Netanyahu’s inability to devise a strategy for the war in Gaza.
There has been criticism from Netanyahu on plans by the Israeli military to enforce daily strategic pauses in combat along the major routes leading to Gaza, to allow the transportation of aid. He expressed his disapproval of news of a scheduled 11-hour break to facilitate humanitarian assistance. An Israeli official confirmed that Netanyahu had received confirmation that nothing had amiss in the military’s strategy and that the fight in Rafah was progressing as purposed.
Prime Minister Netanyahu was further reported criticising the military, stating Israel is not a country owned by the army but the reverse.
An announcement from the military specified a daily break in the Rafah region, allowing aid vehicle movement from the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel, set to continue indefinitely.
In other developments, a top adviser to US President Joe Biden will be heading to Israel on Monday in an effort to prevent any further deterioration in the Israel-Lebanon relations, according to a White House official.
The official has stated that Amos Hochstein will intensify actions to prevent further destabilisation along the Blue Line, a boundary drawn by the United Nations between Lebanon and Israel. There are concerns of a wider conflict across the Middle East due to ongoing strikes between Lebanon’s Hizbullah militants, supported by Iran, and Israel. Over the weekend, Israel’s military suggested that increased retaliatory strikes from Hizbullah could potentially induce an alarming intensification of hostilities. – News Outlets.