From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 26, 2026
Gantz accuses PM of ‘eliminating the people’s army instead of eliminating Hamas’
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. 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"
Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of destroying the capabilities of the IDF through the advancement of a draft exemption law rather than disarming Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Addressing reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Gantz insists that the move to phase two of US President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza “must begin with the dismantling of Hamas’ rule and military power.”
“Now, when we no longer have live hostages in the Gaza Strip, we also have no operational limitations. We need to finish the job. We need to reach an agreement with President Trump on a deadline by which Hamas disarms and leaves power,” Gantz says.
“In order to finish this move, the IDF must be reinforced,” and efforts to pass a bill exempting yeshiva students from military service “is not only corrupt and destructive to the economy…it sabotages our ability to bring about the final overthrow of the Hamas government.”
“It’s crazy to me that after everything we’ve been through, the government is still engaged in eliminating the people’s army instead of eliminating Hamas,” Gantz declares, adding that Likud and Religious Zionism MKs with whom he has spoken in recent weeks are very much against the bill, which he says “will not pass.”
The Times of Israel Community.