Tuesday Briefing
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed the war cabinet in October.Credit…Abir Sultan/EPA, via Shutterstock
Netanyahu disbanded his war cabinet
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, dissolved his war cabinet. The move was widely expected after two key members, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, resigned last week over disagreements about the direction of the fighting in Gaza.
An Israeli official suggested that Netanyahu’s decision to disband the five-member body was largely symbolic. Israeli news media reported yesterday that Netanyahu shut down the cabinet after the far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, the country’s minister of national security, demanded a seat.
For now, major decisions about the war — such as whether to agree to a cease-fire — will be put to a separate and broader security cabinet. Netanyahu will also rely on an informal group of advisers to make important military decisions, analysts said.
A pause in fighting: The Israeli military said that it had halted operations during daylight hours in parts of southern Gaza, a move that aid workers hoped would allow vital supplies to reach residents. The daily pause applies only to a stretch of road, and not to areas in central Gaza where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have fled since the invasion of Rafah.
