Israeli war cabinet minister set to quit

Israel's centrist war cabinet minister Benny Gantz is expected to announce his resignation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's emergency government.

Last month, Gantz presented the conservative prime minister with a June 8 deadline to come up with a clear day-after strategy for Gaza, where Israel has been pressing a devastating military offensive against the ruling Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The minister's spokespeople have not provided details of a scheduled speech on Saturday, but political commentators in Israel's leading newspapers expect him to announce his resignation.

The departure of Gantz's centrist party would not pose an immediate threat to Netanyahu's governing coalition, which controls 64 of parliament's 120 seats, but it could have a serious impact nonetheless.

With Gantz gone, Netanyahu would lose the backing of a centrist bloc that has helped broaden support for the government in Israel and abroad, at a time of increasing diplomatic and domestic pressure eight months into the Gaza conflict.