The “mini forum” is expected to include Defense Minister Yoav Galant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, National Security Council Chairman Tsahi Hanegbi, and ultra-Orthodox Shas Party Chairman Aryeh Deri, as well as representatives of the military.
Throughout the past nine months of fighting in Gaza, Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected attempts by extremist members of his coalition, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, to join talks, according to Israeli media reports.
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Ben Gvir and Smotrich have consistently pressured Netanyahu to oppose a ceasefire plan that would include the release of Israel’s remaining 120 hostages being held by Hamas, dozens of whom are believed to still be alive.
They have been urging Netanyahu to stick to his earlier promise to achieve a “total victory” against Hamas after the group launched a surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that left some 1,200 people dead and 250 taken hostage. They are also pushing for Israel to reoccupy the Gaza Strip, a policy that Israeli defense leaders staunchly oppose.
Ben Gvir tweeted on Monday that Netanyahu’s decision to impose a daily pause on fighting in the Gaza Strip, allow aid trucks to pass through the Strip and potentially prepare to end the war had been made without consulting his security cabinet, and by a “stupid and ignorant person who should not be allowed to stay in his position.”
Nine months of fighting, particularly in the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip, has created a humanitarian crisis that Israel is under international pressure to address.
Ben Gvir and Smotrich’s continued influence from outside the war cabinet contributed to the resignation of war cabinet members Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot last week. The two centrists say they joined the cabinet to ensure the war was conducted responsibly, but concluded they could not work with Netanyahu unless he committed to a next-day strategy for Gaza.
The resignation came after a series of military leaders made rare public statements expressing their dissatisfaction with Netanyahu’s handling of the Gaza war, with many saying Israel cannot afford to continue the war indefinitely, especially with tensions rising on the border with Lebanon.
The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has launched almost daily cross-border attacks into Israel since the war began, forcing tens of thousands of civilians on both sides of the border to flee their homes, turning the area into an unofficial battlefield in their absence.
U.S. Special Envoy Amos Hochstein met with Netanyahu, his cabinet and opposition figures on Monday to try to advance a diplomatic solution with Hezbollah.
Former Deputy Defense Minister Brigadier General Ephraim Sneh said Israel has achieved its military objective of degrading much of Hamas’ capabilities and can afford to shift its focus to declaring an end to the war in Gaza, releasing hostages and pushing Hezbollah forces away from its northern border.
“Israel finds itself in an untenable situation with large parts of its territory being abandoned,” he said, adding that “Israeli forces are stretched thin between the Gaza and Lebanese borders” while Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners are making the situation worse by blocking the entry of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian day laborers into Israel and taking punitive measures against the Palestinian Authority based in the West Bank.
Netanyahu, with the support of his far-right coalition partners, has repeatedly rejected any proposals to establish a reformed Palestinian Authority to replace Hamas rule in Gaza.
Far-right Finance Minister Smotrich tweeted on Thursday that in a move of “historic justice,” he had signed an order to transfer about $35 million in taxes collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority to Israeli terror victims.
IDF moves closer to larger war with HezbollahIsraeli military spokesman Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari said in a video message on Sunday. Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified on the Lebanese border in recent weeks. “Hezbollah attacks have intensified and we are on the brink of a broader escalation that could have devastating consequences for Lebanon and the entire region,” Hagari said. After an Israeli military strike killed a Hezbollah commander last week, a Hezbollah official said the militant group would retaliate with “intensity, strength, quantity and quality.”
Fighting in Rafah and southern Gaza has continued since the day after Israel announced its withdrawal. Operations along aid corridor halted for 11 hours every day regionalPhilippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNPWA), told Reuters on Monday. “We have not seen anything that would meet the definition of a suspension so far,” he told the news agency. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman said in a statement on Monday that troops had suspended fighting on aid routes between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., but continued operations in other areas of southern Gaza.
Israel recorded a record number of defense exports last year.The Israeli Defense Ministry announced the procurement of $13.07 billion in a statement on Monday. Deals for missiles, rockets and air defense systems accounted for 36 percent of Israel’s defense exports, with the majority of exports going to the Asia-Pacific region and Europe, the statement said. “Even in a year marked by war, Israel continues to achieve success in international cooperation and defense industrial exports,” Defense Minister Yoav Galant said in a statement.
At least 37,347 people have been killed and 85,372 injured in Gaza since the war began.The Gaza Health Ministry said most of the dead were women and children, although it did not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel estimates that about 1,200 people, including more than 300 soldiers, were killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, and that 311 of its soldiers have been killed since the start of its military operations in Gaza.
Melnick reported from London. Lior Soroka contributed to this report.
