Tuesday Briefing: Netanyahu Disbands His War Cabinet

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed the war cabinet in October after the Hamas-led assault on Israel.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 resigned.

An Israeli official suggested that Netanyahu’s decision to disband the five-member body was largely symbolic. Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot quit last week over disagreements about the direction of the war in Gaza. Israeli news media reported yesterday that Netanyahu shut down the council 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 — like 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 amid hopes that it would allow more aid to reach residents. The daily pause applies only to a stretch of road in southern Gaza, and not to the central areas where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have fled since the Rafah invasion.