Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has quit Benjamin Netanyahu’s emergency government, saying the prime minister was making "total victory impossible."
In announcing his resignation Sunday, Gantz said the government needs to put the return of the hostages seized Oct. 7 by Hamas "above political survival."
A centrist member of Israel's three-man war Cabinet and former military chief, Gantz joined Netanyahu's government shortly after the Hamas attack in a show of unity. His presence also boosted Israel's credibility with its international partners because of Gantz’s good working relations with U.S. officials.
For now, the move will have no immediate impact on Netanyahu, who still controls a majority in parliament.
Gantz has warned that he would resign by June 8 if Netanyahu did not formulate a new plan for postwar Gaza.
He scrapped a planned news conference Saturday night after four Israeli hostages were rescued from Gaza earlier in the day.
Israel said the hostages – three men and one woman – were rescued in the largest such hostage recovery operation since the eight-month war began.
Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 22, Shlomi Ziv, 41, and Andrey Kozlov, 27, were rescued in two separate locations in a complex special daytime operation in the heart of Nuseirat in central Gaza. They had been held in captivity by the terrorist group for 246 days.
At least 274 Palestinians, including children, were killed in the assault, Gaza health officials said.
