From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 8, 2024
Ben Gvir slams Gallant for saying war in northern Gaza to transition to new phase
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir rails against Yoav Gallant after the defense minister tells the Wall Street Journal that the IDF will be shifting from what he called the “intense maneuvering phase of the war” toward “different types of special operations” in northern Gaza.
Responding to Gallant’s assertion that Israel is “close to the next phase in the north,” the minister says that such a statement is tantamount to an announcement “of the end of the war of subjugation and a transition to the war of attrition.”
“The small cabinet has no mandate to announce this,” he argues, referring to the war cabinet, which comprises Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Gallant and Minister Benny Gantz. “This is not how we will win!”
On Saturday, the IDF said it had completed the dismantlement of Hamas’s “military framework” in the northern Gaza Strip.
The Times of Israel Community.