Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved Israel’s war cabinet on Monday, after two key members quit last week amid disagreement over the direction of the war in Gaza.
The cabinet had been made up of six political leaders including Netanyahu and has been responsible for making most major decisions in regards to how Israel conducts the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu cited the resignation of Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist Israel Resilience Party, for his decision to dissolve the war cabinet. “As soon as Gantz left—there is no need for a cabinet anymore,” Netanyhu said during a National Security Cabinet meeting on Monday.
In his resignation speech last week, Gantz accused Netanyahu of botching important strategic decisions in Gaza and called for fresh elections.
The war cabinet news comes two days after tens of thousands of Israelis protested against the Netanyahu government and shut down major highways in Tel Aviv, calling for new elections and a hostage deal in what appears to be one of the largest protests since October.
Netanyahu is now expected to hold ad-hoc talks over the war with a smaller group of ministers from his own right-wing Likud party. The ministers likely include Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, The Times of Israel reported.
Israeli media reported that the decision to disband the war cabinet was a response to far right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s demand to be included in the wake of Gantz and Gadi Eizenkot’s resignation last week.
The Israel-Hamas war began after the surprise Oct. 7 attack, which killed 1,200 Israelis and resulted in about 250 people being taken hostage. At least 37,000 Palestinians have been killed since then, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, figures that are deemed credible by the U.S. and the U.N.