Netanyahu fires Defence Minister Yoav Gallant

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, and appointed Israel Katz to succeed him, triggering protests across the country, reports Aljazeera.

In a surprise announcement on Tuesday, Netanyahu said he had lost confidence in Gallant over the management of Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

“Over the past few months that trust has eroded. In light of this, I decided today to end the term of the defence minister,” the prime minister said in a statement issued by his office.

The statement added that the differences between Netanyahu and Gallant “grew wider” and became known by the public “in an unusual manner and, worse, became known to our enemies, who took pleasure in them and derived substantial benefit from them”.

Shortly afterwards, Gallant said in a post on X that working to ensure Israel’s security would “always remain the mission of my life”.

Netanyahu appointed Foreign Minister Israel Katz to succeed Gallant as defence minister, while Gideon Saar became the new foreign minister._Agencies.