Gallant said to call Philadelphi demand a ‘disgrace,’ drawing fury from PM, ministers
Defense minister reportedly urges softening negotiating stance to save hostages at security cabinet meeting, but ministers say doing so would incentivize Hamas to murder them
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and allies reportedly assailed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a security cabinet meeting Sunday that was convened hours after the Israel Defense Forces recovered the bodies of six hostages taken captive by Hamas during its October 7 attack and murdered by the terror group days ago.
The meeting came on the eve of a one-day general strike called by the Histadrut Labor Federation for Monday, with hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to the streets Sunday evening to demand a hostage-ceasefire deal amid swirling anger at the government for not reaching an agreement in time to save the six.
In the meeting Sunday evening, Gallant reportedly called the demand that Israel maintain control of the so-called Philadelphi Corridor separating Egypt and Gaza “an unnecessary constraint that we’ve placed on ourselves.” As a result, the government “will not live up to the war goals we set for ourselves,” he warned, according to comments carried widely in Hebrew-language media.
Before the meeting, Gallant posted on X a public call for the high-level security cabinet to meet to reverse a Thursday cabinet vote backing Netanyahu’s insistence on Israeli oversight over Philadelphi, a major sticking point in ongoing negotiations with Hamas for a ceasefire deal that includes the release of the remaining 101 hostages still held in Gaza.
“The decision made Thursday was reached under the assumption that there is time, but if we want the hostages alive, there’s no time,” Gallant reportedly told the ministers. “The fact that we prioritize the Philadelphi Corridor at the cost of the lives of the hostages is a moral disgrace.”
The remarks drew hostile responses from other ministers, as well as from Netanyahu, according to reports.
“If we give in to Hamas’s demands, like Gallant wants, we’ve lost the war,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was quoted saying.
The prime minister himself reportedly told Gallant he was sticking to his demands despite the murders of the six hostages, who were apparently executed as troops closed in on their location in a tunnel below the Gazan city of Rafah.
If Israel leaves the Philadelphi Corridor, “the hostages will be taken to Sinai, and then to Iran,” Netanyahu said according to reports, adding: “The US already agreed to this, why are you against it?”
However, the outlet claimed that Netanyahu also said he was willing to compromise in other areas aside from the Philadelphi Corridor, maintaining that a hostage deal with Hamas was still possible.
Both Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Foreign Minister Israel Katz reportedly accused Gallant of creating a dynamic in which Hamas would receive concessions from Israel as a result of murdering hostages.
“Where will that lead? What will that do to the negotiations? It’s not hard to imagine,” Levin reportedly told Gallant, drawing an angry response from the defense minister.
The justice minister was also said to complain to Gallant over the public nature of his call to backtrack Thursday’s decision, telling the meeting: “How can we conduct ourselves if everyone tweets their opinions from the cabinet? When [the cabinet] makes a decision, [the ministers] show solidarity and stand behind it.”
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer was reported to say that reversing the Philadelphi decision would “incentivize murder,” adding that Israel must “exact a very heavy price from Hamas for murdering the hostages.”
Netanyahu also reportedly ordered the government to prepare recommendations within 48 hours for a strong response to Hamas over the execution of the six hostages: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lobanov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 27.
“We must say clearly that we will respond to this with immense power,” the premier told ministers according to the Israel Hayom daily. “If we don’t do this, we will see more such murders.”
The far-right flank of the coalition was said to urge far-reaching steps as payback for the captives’ execution, with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir advocating passing a law setting the death penalty for terror offenses, and Smotrich asserting Israel must permanently conquer parts of Gaza for every dead hostage and never return those areas.
The fiery exchange on Sunday was only the most recent clash between Gallant and the prime minister, as well as Netanyahu’s allies.
The Walla news site reported that Netanyahu had consulted people close to him on Sunday about “taking advantage of the commotion” to fire the defense minister.
Others close to the Prime Minister’s Office told the Kan public broadcaster Sunday that Netanyahu was not going to fire Gallant soon, but said the premier and those around him were furious, saying Gallant “has lost his mind.”
Netanyahu fired Gallant in March 2023 after the defense minister warned about the danger to national security stemming from rifts over the government’s highly divisive judicial overhaul plans. Amid unprecedented mass public protests, Gallant was reinstated two weeks later.
Some members of the government have been calling on Netanyahu to fire Gallant again, criticizing his conduct in the ongoing war.
Sam Sokol and Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.
