Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday fired his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, a long-rumored move that was announced on Election Day in the U.S. Netanyahu and Gallant had repeatedly clashed over the conduct of the war in Gaza and Lebanon.
Protests erupted in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in response to the decision, with critics accusing Netanyahu of prioritizing his own political survival over Israel’s best interests, while families of those held hostage in Gaza expressed deep concern over the impact Gallant’s firing could have on efforts to secure the release of their loved ones.
Gallant will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who thanked Netanyahu in a social media post for trusting him with the role. Gideon Saar, a former Netanyahu opponent, will become foreign minister and cement support for the fragile ruling coalition keeping the embattled Israeli leader in power.
“In the midst of a war, more than ever, full trust is required between the prime minister and the minister of defense,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, although in the first months of the campaign there was very fruitful work, during the last months this trust cracked between me and the minister of defense.”
Netanyahu added that there were significant “gaps” between what the Cabinet had decided and what he termed “the campaign.”
He added that most members of the government and the Cabinet shared a “crisis of trust” with Gallant.
Gallant, in response Tuesday, said, “The security of the State of Israel always was, and will always remain, my life’s mission.”
In a later address, he said Netanyahu had informed him of the decision earlier that evening.
He said he was fired over discord on three key issues, including his support for Israel making “painful compromises” in order to ensure the release of hostages who remain held in Gaza, as well as his calls for a commission of inquiry to investigate Israel’s failures on Oct. 7, 2023, and his support for legislation that would remove exemptions allowing ultra-Orthodox Jewish men to avoid military conscription.
Signs of strains in the Gallant-Netanyahu relationship appeared over the last months. Gallant was scheduled to meet with his U.S. counterpart, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in Washington in early October — a trip Gallant initiated — but it was postponed at Netanyahu’s request.
Gallant, who has spent decades in the military, has been critical of Netanyahu’s approach to the conflicts with Hamas and Hezbollah.
His firing drew immediate criticism from opposition leader Benny Gantz, who said it was “politics at the expense of national security.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid condemned the decision as an “act of madness” and accused Netanyahu of “selling Israel’s security and the IDF fighters for a disgraceful political survival.”
In a statement, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum expressed its “deep concern” about the decision and about how it would affect “the fate of 101 hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza for nearly 400 days.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on X: “The last thing the State of Israel needs right now is an upheaval and a rupture in the middle of the war.”
Netanyahu’s decision was welcomed by his ultranationalist national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who congratulated him on the move.
“With Gallant … it is not possible to achieve absolute victory,” Ben-Gvir wrote on X.
In a nationally televised statement in May, Gallant challenged Netanyahu over his refusal to discuss a cease-fire and hostage deal. He said that would force Israel to have to rule over the Palestinian enclave again.
“We must make tough decisions for the future of our country, favoring national priorities above all other possible considerations, even with the possibility of personal or political costs,” Gallant said over the summer.
In the United States, a spokesperson for the National Security Council said Gallant has been an important partner on Israel’s defense.
“As close partners, we will continue to work collaboratively with Israel’s next Minister of Defense,” the spokesperson said.
A U.S. official called Gallant’s firing a surprise.
“The surprising decision to fire Defense Minister Gallant is concerning, especially in the middle of two wars and as Israel prepares to defend against a potential attack from Iran,” the official said. “We have real questions about the reasons for Gallant’s firing and about what is driving the decision.”
Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Gallant had been a “trusted partner as Israel’s Minister of Defense.”
“America’s commitment to Israel’s security remains ironclad and the U.S. Department of Defense will continue to work closely with Israel’s next Minister of Defense,” he said.
Mustafa Barghouti, head of the Palestinian National Initiative political party, said Gallant’s firing was “evidence of a deep internal rift in the Israeli system as a result of the failure of the Israeli aggression to achieve its goals.”
In the days after the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, which Israeli officials say killed more than 1,200 people, Gallant announced a “complete siege” of Gaza.
“No electricity, no food, no water, no gas — it’s all closed,” Gallant said at the time, adding that his military was fighting against “human animals” in Gaza, where local officials say more than 43,000 people have been killed.
Netanyahu fired Gallant in March 2023, after he publicly disagreed with the government and pushed to stop a controversial plan to overhaul the judicial system. The move prompted mass protests and led Netanyahu to reverse the decision.