Israel Katz formally replaces Gallant as defense minister in modest handover ceremony

Israel Katz formally becomes Israel’s defense minister, replacing Yoav Gallant who was fired, in a modest handover ceremony this morning.

The ceremony at the Defense Ministry was attended by the IDF’s General Staff Forum and the ministry’s staff.

Katz in a speech says that he is looking forward to working with the defense establishment and that he will be “the defender of the IDF… and I will harness all my abilities to allow the IDF to deal with the things it needs to deal with, with full force.”

“I am sure that we will achieve victory in this campaign whose goals are to curb Iranian aggression and negate its capabilities, to continue the dismantling of Hamas as a governing and military force, and to defeat Hezbollah,” he says.

Addressing Gallant, Katz says “We were friends and we will remain friends because we believe in the same things that will ensure the security and future of the State of Israel, the Jewish State. I promise you that the entire State of Israel will emerge from the campaign and from the pain to much higher places.”

Gallant, in his parting speech, says that he is leaving the role “with great pain over the loss, and for what has not yet been completed, the return of the hostages.”

“But also with a sense of achievement and significance, for what has been done here, under my responsibility in the last two years, establishing a new and better strategic reality for the State of Israel,” he says.

“This is not a complete farewell. I will continue, as I have done all my life, to work for the security of the State of Israel and for the people of Israel,” Gallant adds.