Israel's Netanyahu dismisses his defense minister

Thousands of demonstrators have gathered across Israel to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s firing Tuesday of popular Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

In Tel Aviv, protesters blocked the city’s main highway, creating a ruckus with whistles, drums and a bonfire. In Jerusalem, approximately 1,000 protesters, angry about the defense minister’s sacking, gathered outside Netanyahu’s home. Other demonstrations were reported across the country, as well.

While Netanyahu has kept up Israel’s military pressure on Hamas, Gallant has called for at least a temporary deal to bring home the hostages taken during Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Since then, Israel has also engaged in heavy fighting with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia and exchanged long-range attacks with Iran.

Netanyahu said in a statement Tuesday that the trust between Gallant and himself had evaporated over the course of Israel’s war on Gaza.

“Over the past few months that trust has eroded. In light of this, I decided today to end the term of the defense minister,” Netanyahu said.

“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and the minister of defense,” Netanyahu said, adding that "significant gaps were discovered between me and Gallant in the management of the campaign" in Gaza. Despite “many attempts to bridge these gaps, they kept getting wider.”

Like Gallant, the families of the hostages have also been calling for a deal that would bring their loved ones home. They have also mounted massive demonstrations, accusing Netanyahu of thinking more about his career than the hostages held in Gaza.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Tuesday in a statement, “We expect the incoming defense minister, Israel Katz, to prioritize a hostage deal and work closely with mediators and the international community to secure the immediate release of all hostages.”

Gallant’s dismissal also follows his announcement Monday that he had sent draft notices to thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jewish young men, a group that formerly enjoyed a blanket exemption from Israel’s compulsory military service.

The exemptions have garnered much resentment among other Israelis, and the Supreme Court recently ruled that ultra-Orthodox men were subject to the draft. However, Netanyahu’s government has not enforced draft orders.

The ultra-Orthodox parties are a crucial part of the prime minister’s governing coalition.

Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.