UPDATE – Israeli War Cabinet Minister Gantz resigns from Netanyahu’s government

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) – Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz resigned Sunday evening from the emergency unity government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Addressing a press conference in Tel Aviv, Gantz called on Netanyahu to hold early elections “as soon as possible.”

“Do not let our nation tear apart,” he said.

“Unfortunately, Netanyahu prevents us from reaching true victory,” Gantz said. “To ensure a real victory, it is appropriate that in the fall, a year after the disaster, we will go to elections that will eventually establish a government that will win the people’s trust and be able to face challenges.”

The resigned minister called on Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to resign from Netanyahu's government.

“Defense minister, you are a courageous and determined leader, and above all — a patriot. In this time, leadership and courage means not only saying what's right - but doing what's right,” Gantz said.

Last month, Gantz, who joined the government on Oct. 7, set June 8 as a deadline for Netanyahu to draft a post-war plan for Gaza or he will leave the coalition. On Saturday, however, he delayed his planned press conference.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack 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.