Yoav Galant, former Israeli Defense Minister
– Photo: ANI
Expansion
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed the country’s popular Defense Minister Yoav Galant in a shocking announcement. Now former top diplomat Israel Katz has been appointed in his place. According to the information, there was tension between PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Galant during the war in Gaza. But PM Netanyahu had refrained from sacking his rival.
This trust has been lost in the last few months – Netanyahu
A previous attempt to fire Yoav Galant in March 2023 sparked widespread street protests against Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli Prime Minister announced his decision late Tuesday night. In a statement issued by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, PM Netanyahu said, this trust has been lost in the last few months. In view of this, I have decided to terminate the tenure of the Defense Minister today.
There was a conflict between the two after the Hamas attack.
There has been a frequent clash between PM Netanyahu and Gallant over Israel’s retaliatory military strike against Hamas after the deadly attack on Israel on October 7 last year. After this change, Gideon Saar was appointed Foreign Minister in place of Israel Katz. Whereas after being dismissed, Yoav Galant said that Israel’s security will remain the ‘mission’ of his life.
More than 45 thousand deaths so far in Israel-Hamas conflict
According to Israeli official figures, Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 killed 1,206 people, most of them civilians. According to Gaza Health Ministry data, which the United Nations considers reliable, 43,391 people have been killed in Gaza in Israel’s retaliation, most of whom are civilians. More than a year after the Gaza war began, the Israeli military on Tuesday stepped up its multi-front campaign against militants from the air and land.
Israel’s deadly attack south of Beirut
Lebanese officials reported deadly attacks across the country. One person was killed and 20 were injured in an Israeli strike on the coastal town of Jiyeh, south of Beirut, the health ministry said. Lebanon’s official national news agency reported that the airstrikes also targeted southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley. Hezbollah claimed on Tuesday that it had fired rockets and drones into northern Israel, and also targeted Israeli troops near the border inside Lebanon. Tuesday’s fighting comes more than a month after the Hezbollah-Israel war, which has killed at least 1,964 people in Lebanon since September 23.