Former military leader leaves cabinet

Gantz's resignation over war in Gaza leaves Israeli PM further isolated

- MELANIE LIDMAN

Benny Gantz, above, encouraged the third member of the war cabinet, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, to “do the right thing” and resign as well.

JERUSALEM Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Israel’s three-man war cabinet, announced his resignation Sunday, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of mismanaging the war effort and putting his own “political survival” over the country’s security needs.

The move does not immediately pose a threat to Netanyahu, who still controls a majority coalition in parliament. But the Israeli leader becomes more heavily reliant on far-right allies who oppose the latest U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal and want to press ahead with the war.

“Unfortunately, Netanyahu is preventing us from achieving true victory, which is the justification for the painful and ongoing price,” Gantz said. He added that Netanyahu was “making empty promises,” and the country needs to take a different direction as he expects the fighting to continue for years to come.