Hamas sees disbanding of Israel's War Cabinet as victory for Palestinian resistance

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - The Palestinian resistance group Hamas declared late Monday that the Israeli government’s decision to disband the War Cabinet, which was formed to manage the war on the Gaza Strip, is a victory for the Palestinian resistance.

In a statement, Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said the armed resistance, led by Hamas' armed wing Al-Qassam Brigades, "dismantles the Zionist (Israeli) War Cabinet that was originally formed eight months ago to dismantle the (Palestinian) resistance."

Tel Aviv announced Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved the War Cabinet, which was formed on Oct. 11, 2023, just days after Israel declared war on Gaza on Oct. 7 of last year.

The move came after opposition leader Benny Gantz resigned from the emergency government earlier this month over disagreements about a post-war strategy for the Gaza Strip.

The War Cabinet was originally made up of Netanyahu, Gantz, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Ron Dermer, Gadi Eizenkot, and Shas party leader Aryeh Deri.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

More than 37,300 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and more than 85,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.