Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu ousts Gallant as Israel’s defense minister

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired his defense minister Tuesday, a long rumored move that was announced on election day in the United States. The two have repeatedly clashed over the conduct of the war in Gaza and Lebanon.

Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Netanyahu said in a statement. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu opponent, will become foreign minister and cement his support for the fragile ruling coalition keeping the embattled Israeli leader in power. 

“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and the minister of defense,” Netanyahu said in his statement. “Unfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the minister of defense.”

Netanyahu added that there were significant “gaps” between what the Cabinet had decided and what he termed “the campaign.” 

He added that most members of the government and the Cabinet shared the sense of a “crisis of trust” with Gallant.

Signs of strains in the Gallant-Netanyahu relationship have appeared over the last months. Gallant was scheduled to meet with his counterpart U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Washington in early October — a trip Gallant initiated — but the trip was postponed at Netanyahu’s request.

Gallant, who has a decades-long military career, has been critical of Netanyahu’s approach to the conflicts with Hamas and Hezbollah.

His firing drew immediate criticism from opposition leader Benny Gantz, who said it was “politics at the expense of national security.”

In a nationally televised statement, Gallant challenged Netanyahu over his refusal to discuss a cease-fire and hostage deal in May. He said that would lead to Israel being forced to rule over the Palestinian enclave again. 

“We must make tough decisions for the future of our country, favoring national priorities above all other possible considerations, even with the possibility of personal or political costs,” Gallant said over the summer. 

Netanyahu previously fired Gallant in March 2023, after he publicly disagreed with the government and pushed to stop a controversial plan to overhaul the judicial system. The move led to mass protests and Netanyahu reversed the decision. 

Israel’s offensive in Gaza since then has killed more than 43,000 people, according to health officials in the enclave. The war in Gaza began with Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks, in which about 1,200 people were killed and Palestinian militants took around 250 hostages. Around 100 people remain in captivity, although a third are believed to be dead.