A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed on June 17 the dissolution of the war cabinet, established after the Hamas attack on Israeli territory on October 7. The decision was made after the resignation of centrist Benny Gantz.
Israeli media previously reported that Netanyahu announced the dissolution of the war cabinet during a security cabinet meeting on June 16.
David Mencer, spokesman for the prime minister’s office, confirmed the dissolution of the war cabinet during a press conference, saying that “from now on it will be the security cabinet that will make decisions on matters relating to the war.”
“The creation of a war cabinet was Gantz’s condition for entering into a unity government,” Mercer added. “With his exit from the executive, the war cabinet no longer has any reason to exist and its functions will be taken over by the security cabinet.”
The latter includes nine ministers in addition to Netanyahu.
Gantz, leader of the centrist National Unity coalition, left the government on June 9th together with his ally Gadi Eisenkot, in dispute with Netanyahu over the conduct of the war.
According to some political analysts, the dissolution of the war cabinet also aims to put a spoke in the wheels of far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who had aimed to be part of it since the beginning of the conflict.
Meanwhile, on June 17, Israel conducted a series of attacks in the northern Gaza Strip, while some witnesses reported explosions in the south. However, the situation appears relatively calmer after the Israeli army announced a daily “pause” between 8am and 7pm in a southern sector of the territory.
Announced on June 16 to coincide with the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al Adha, the pause will facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians.
According to Hamas authorities, the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip has so far caused the deaths of 37,347 people. The Hamas attack on Israeli territory on October 7 caused at least 1,194 victims in Israel, according to an AFP tally based on the latest available Israeli data.
