Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lambasted his Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday and accused him of adopting an âanti-Israel narrative,â revealing a deep rupture at the top of the Israeli government as the Middle East risks spiraling into a full-scale regional conflict.
Israeli media reported this week that Gallant, speaking to lawmakers in a private security briefing, had dismissed Netanyahuâs war aim of achieving âabsolute victoryâ over Hamas as âgibberish,â branding those who say this is achievable as âheroes with war drums.â
Netanyahuâs office shot back, saying Gallantâs comments jeopardize talks to release the hostages held in Gaza.
âWhen Gallant adopts the anti-Israel narrative, he harms the chances of reaching a hostage deal,â the prime ministerâs office said in a statement. It said Gallant was obligated to pursue the twin goals of Israelâs war in Gaza: Eliminating Hamas and the release of the hostages seized by Hamas in the October 7 attacks.
The barbed exchange is the latest in a series of spats between the two men during more than 10 months of war, and comes as Israel has been bracing for a possible attack by Iran and its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon. That has prompted the United States to bolster Israelâs defences, sending a guided missile submarine to the region over the weekend.
Iran and Hezbollah have vowed to avenge the killings last month of Hamasâ political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who died in an explosion in Tehran, and of Hezbollahâs top military commander Fuâad Shukr, who was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike in a Beirut suburb.
Iran blamed Haniyehâs death on Israel, and a source familiar with the matter previously told CNN that Haniyeh was assassinated with an explosive device hidden in the guest house where he was staying.
The death of Haniyeh, who had been a key player in ceasefire talks, threatened to derail the negotiations to halt the war in Gaza and escalate the conflict, with Iran warning that âblood vengeanceâ for the killing was âcertain.â Hezbollah also promised that Shukrâs blood âwill not have been shed in vainâ and threatened to retaliate, forcing Israel to confront the prospect of a war on multiple fronts.
Critics have accused Netanyahu of being more interested in defeating Hamas and preserving his government than returning the hostages. Far-right members of his coalition have threatened to collapse the government should a deal go through.
A group of hostage families on Saturday accused the prime minister of âgamblingâ with the lives of the hostages to ensure that his government survives, according to the Times of Israel.
The US, Egypt and Qatar â key mediators in talks between the warring parties â have urged Israel and Hamas to return to the negotiating table to consider a âfinal bridging proposal.â Discussions are set to resume Thursday in the Egyptian capital Cairo or the Qatari capital Doha.
Deepening schism
Gallant, who has emerged as a top interlocutor for advisers to US President Joe Biden, has often stressed the need for a ceasefire deal. He has previously called on Netanyahu to declare that Israel would not establish civilian or military control over Gaza, although the prime minister has remained vague on his plans for the âday afterâ the war.
In his leaked comments, Gallant also claimed he had in October proposed a pre-emptive attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon, but that Netanyahu had not supported the strike and had missed the opportunity.
âThe conditions today for a Lebanon war are the opposite of what they were at the beginning of the war,â Gallant reportedly told lawmakers.
Responding to Gallantâs claims, Netanyahuâs office deflected blame for the failure to reach a ceasefire deal, saying Gallant âshould have attacked (Hamas leader Yahya) Sinwar, who refuses to send a delegation to the negotiations, and who was and remains the only obstacle to the hostage deal.â
In a later post on X, a chastened Gallant said he had told the private meeting that he is âdetermined to meet the goals of the war and to continue the fighting until Hamas is dismantled and the hostages return,â and also criticized the leaks from âsensitive and confidential forums.â
He stressed Israel is facing âchallenging days in which weâll be required to stand firm and take powerful and defensive offensive actions.â
Gallant joins a number of senior Israeli officials to have questioned Netanyahuâs aim of destroying Hamas. In June, top military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the idea that Israel could âmake Hamas vanishâ is âthrowing sand in the eyes of the public.â
CNN recently reported that nearly half of Hamasâ military battalions in northern and central Gaza have rebuilt some of their fighting capabilities, despite Israelâs unrelenting assault, according to a joint analysis with the American Enterprise Instituteâs Critical Threats Project and the Institute for the Study of War.