Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu Disbands War Cabinet: Report

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has disbanded the war cabinet set up with the aim of eliminating Hamas and freeing Israeli hostages in Gaza after the October 7 attacks.

The development was first reported by the US broadcaster CNN citing unnamed Israeli officials.

Last week, Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz announced his withdrawal from the body.

He claimed that his rival, with whom he had come together to devise a strategy to eliminate the Palestinian terror group Hamas in Gaza in the wake of the October 7 attacks, failed to devise a strategy for the war in the blockaded coastal enclave and how to govern the war ravaged Gaza Strip in the future.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu has been pressured by far-right coalition members Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to join the war cabinet.

Defence minister Yoav Gallant was also a key member of the cabinet formed five days after the attack. High-ranking politicians such as Gadi Eisenkot and Ron Dermer also took part as observers.

Gantz also said Netanyahu must call an election. “I call on Netanyahu: set an agreed election date. Do not let our people be torn apart. Netanyahu prevents us from moving forward to a real victory,” he said in a televised address.

Israel struck Gaza on Monday and witnesses reported blasts in the besieged territory’s south, but fighting has largely subsided after a day of relative calm and as Muslims marked Eid al-Adha.

The war was triggered by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

The militants also seized 251 hostages. Of these, 116 remain in Gaza, although the army says 41 are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive aimed at wiping out Hamas has killed at least 37,337 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry.

Egyptian, Qatari and US mediators have been pushing for a new Gaza truce, so far without success.

Washington has been pressing Israel and Hamas to formally accept Biden’s truce plan, which would allow an initial six-week pause to fighting.