Netanyahu dissolves Israel wartime Cabinet, officials say

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved the wartime Cabinet set up in the early days of the war in Gaza to coordinate and plan the military response to the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, according to The Associated Press.

Netanyahu’s decision to discard the wartime Cabinet comes just days after opposition leader and centrist politician Benny Gantz resigned from the group, accusing the Israeli prime minister of failing to come up with a post-war Gaza plan and of putting his own political interests ahead of Israel.

It also comes as frustration mounts in Israel about the 120 hostages still held in Gaza. The families of the hostages have called for the release of their loved ones, but a cease-fire and hostage release deal has yet to materialize after an initial agreement in November.

The dissolution of the wartime Cabinet, which consisted of Gantz, Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, was more of a formality after Gantz resigned, but it indicates that Netanyahu and his allies will continue to hold more power over wartime decision making.

An Israeli official who confirmed the wartime Cabinet was disbanded told The Associated Press that going forward, Netanyahu will hold smaller meetings with government officials, including with his security Cabinet that is largely made up of his allies.

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 37,000 people and sparked a humanitarian crisis, creating international pressure to wind down the war.

Netanyahu has resisted that pressure and both domestic and international calls for a clear vision of how to bring the war to an end and deal with Gaza in the aftermath. He has only vowed to obtain indefinite security control over the territory and to give Palestinians in Gaza the ability to rule without any influence from Palestinian militant group Hamas. Opponents of the prime minister have accused him of continuing the war for his own political survival, including avoiding a failure to stop the Oct. 7 attacks.

President Biden has voiced frustration with the war, though he is committed to protecting Israel after Hamas attacked on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages.

With pressure for the war to end growing at home, Biden announced a proposal last month that would, over several phases, see the release of hostages, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from densely populated areas, and negotiations for an end to the war.

Hamas submitted a response to the proposal that Secretary of State Antony Blinken said creates more gaps the U.S. would have to bridge.

Israel last month moved in troops to the southern city of Rafah, forcing around a million Palestinians to flee a place that had become a last line of refuge. Israel says it is fighting a limited conflict in that city.