After his firing, Gallant tells hostage families Netanyahu needlessly keeping IDF in Gaza
As dismissal takes effect, US expresses concern that coordination will be affected, Biden officials skeptical over PM’s assurances he is not planning wider purge of security chiefs
Former defense minister Yoav Gallant reportedly told families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel’s military has no reason to remain in the Strip, and that Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu is keeping soldiers in Gaza “out of a desire to stay there.”
The conversation came hours before his firing went into effect Thursday evening and the Knesset voted to approve the appointment of Israel Katz as the new defense chief.
According to a report on Channel 12, Gallant, who was abruptly fired from his post by Netanyahu on Tuesday night, told the families that the prime minister is the only one who can decide whether or not to agree on a hostage deal, and that he “tried and failed” to influence the premier on the matter.
“The head of the Shin Bet, the chief of staff, and I think the head of the Mossad, also agreed with me,” Gallant said, explaining that he told Netanyahu that “the conditions were ripe” for a deal in July, and that he and the prime minister have been in conflict about the parameters for a proposal ever since.
The ousted defense chief said that he and IDF chief Herzi Halevi were both skeptical of claims that there were security or diplomatic justifications for leaving troops in the Strip.
“I can tell you what there was not: security considerations. The IDF chief and I said there was no security reason for remaining in the Philadelphi Corridor,” he reportedly said, referring to the strip of land in Gaza that runs all along the border with Egypt, which Netanyahu has championed as one of the key strategic gains of the war.
“Netanyahu said that [retaining] it was a diplomatic consideration; I’m telling you there was no diplomatic consideration,” he added, according to the TV report, which was based on accounts from families who attended the meeting. Other Hebrew media outlets published similar accounts of the meeting and Gallant’s comments.
“There’s nothing left in Gaza to do. The major achievements have been achieved,” he was quoted saying. “I fear we are staying there just because there is a desire to stay there,” he added, potentially referring to Netanyahu’s stated insistence on absolute victory over Hamas, and possibly to far-right calls to occupy the Strip and create Israeli settlements.
Gallant also said the idea that Israel must remain in Gaza to create stability was “an inappropriate idea to risk soldiers’ lives over.”
As for the “day after” the war, Gallant explained to the hostages’ families that he believed “it would be bad for Israel to rule Gaza,” and that Israel has to establish a governing body “that is neither Hamas nor Israel, because otherwise we will pay a heavy price.”
“If this doesn’t happen,” he reportedly said, “the process will continue” and will endanger more soldiers if it leads to Israel protractedly remaining in Gaza.
The comments are the starkest yet highlighting the differences between Gallant, who backed a ceasefire deal to bring hostages home, and Netanyahu, who has refused to end the war as part of a hostage deal.
Partnership with the US
As his dismissal took effect on Thursday evening, Gallant posted a farewell message, saying that he had spoken to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to thank him “for his partnership and deep commitment to the defense cooperation between our countries, and to the security of the State of Israel.”
He praised Washington for its “extraordinary support” following the October 7, 2023 Hamas invasion, slaughter and hostage-taking in southern Israel.
“It has been my honor and privilege to serve my country and to work together in further deepening the bond between our nations. Our ties are critical to the security and prosperity of the State of Israel and the Jewish people,” he wrote on X.
As I complete my role as Israel’s Minister of Defense, I spoke this evening with my friend, U.S. @secdef Lloyd Austin. I expressed my deep appreciation to the Secretary for his partnership and deep commitment to the defense cooperation between our countries, and to the security… pic.twitter.com/SHJBHOynAk
— יואב גלנט – Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) November 7, 2024
Gallant was seen as the main conduit for discussions between the Biden administration and Israel amid frequent tensions with Netanyahu.
In the wake of Gallant’s firing, Netanyahu told the Biden administration he was not planning a wider purge of Israel’s security leadership, two US officials told the Axios news site.
Hebrew media has reported that he plans to also fire IDF Chief of Staff Halevi and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.
The Axios report said that the US officials were not sure that they believed Netanyahu.
They also expressed concern that coordination over the wars in Gaza and Lebanon, and countering an expected Iranian attack, could be hampered by the decsion to dismiss Gallant.
“We still have a lot of things to do in the next two months. We don’t have a relationship with Katz, and we are concerned it is going to be much more difficult now,” a Biden administration official told Axios.
Netanyahu announced on Tuesday that he had fired Gallant, whom he had fired in March 2023 and rehired amid intense public objection.
The premier announced that foreign minister Katz would replace Gallant as defense minister, with Gideon Sa’ar becoming foreign minister.
A modest handover ceremony for the defense minister role was planned for Friday morning.
Opposition politicians accused the premier of playing politics at the expense of Israel’s security. The move was largely seen by critics as motivated by political considerations, including efforts to pass legislation exempting ultra-Orthodox men from mandatory military service, which Gallant has opposed.
Wednesday night saw the second day in a row of protests in Jerusalem and other locations around the country against Gallant’s dismissal.
Israel is in the midst of a war that began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led a massive cross-border attack on the south of the country, killed 1,200 people and abducted 251 as hostages to Gaza, where 97 are still held, many of them dead.
The fighting has spread as Iran’s proxy terror groups joined in, including Hezbollah in Lebanon where Israel has launched an air and ground operation to end rocket fire that has displaced tens of thousands of residents of northern Israel.
