Netanyahu slams Gantz for resigning from Israel’s emergency government

By Said Amori

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu harshly criticized War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz on Sunday for resigning from the emergency government.

Gantz announced his resignation earlier in the day, citing fundamental differences in the strategic approach and claiming that Netanyahu "prevents us from reaching true victory" in the war on Gaza.

War Council observer Gadi Eisenkot, a former Israeli army chief of staff, also announced his resignation.

Netanyahu said in a post on X that “Israel is in an existential war on several fronts. Benny, now is not the time to abandon the fight, it is the time to combine forces.”

“My door will stay open to any Zionist party that is willing to share the burden and help bring victory over our enemies and ensure the safety of our citizens,” he added.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir asked to join the War Cabinet after Gantz's resignation.

“In light of Gantz's retirement, I have directed a request to the Prime Minister asking to join the War Cabinet. It is time to make brave decisions, to get real deterrence, and to bring security to the South, the North, and all of Israel,” Ben-Gvir said in a post on X.

Last month, Gantz, who joined the government on Oct. 11 last year, set June 8 as a deadline for Netanyahu to draft a post-war plan for Gaza or he would leave the coalition. On Saturday, however, he delayed a planned press conference.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 37,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and nearly 84,500 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay 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 the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala