Report: Netanyahu plans to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly planning to dismiss the current defense minister in the near future, Yoav Gallant, for allegedly opposing a large-scale military operation in Lebanon, the agency reported. Kan national broadcaster, citing an official from the President's Office.

According to the same source, the replacement that Netanyahu is considering is the leader of the New Hope party and former Minister of Justice, Gideon Saar.

Another possibility that is being considered, as Kan points out, is that Saar would be appointed foreign minister and that the current holder of this portfolio, Israel Katz, would take on the role of defense minister.

After much of the press picked up on these leaks, Netanyahu's office denied that there had been any "negotiations with Gideon Saar," but made no direct reference to Gallant's possible dismissal.

In recent months, particularly over the handling of the war in Gaza, the differences between Gallant and Netanyahu - who already had a strictly professional relationship - have become more acute.

"Gallant fundamentally opposes Netanyahu's main policies, from his lukewarm approach to recruiting ultra-Orthodox to his refusal to sign a ceasefire agreement," said Ilana Shpaizman, a political expert, in a video conference with the media.

On August 29, Gallant was the only one of nine Cabinet ministers to vote against a continued troop presence on Gaza's border with Egypt if that condition prevented an agreement on the release of hostages.

The military's inaction in the north of the country, where there is an almost daily exchange of fire with the pro-Iran Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah and around 60.000 Israelis remain evacuated from their homes, is now the president's pretext for dismissing Gallant.

"It is true that Gallant advocated last October for toughening the offensive on the northern (border), but now he has realized that doing so will not save the hostages," said the political expert.

Gallant's possible replacement has caused particular concern among some of the relatives of the 97 hostages who are still being held, aware that Saar's arrival would jeopardise the possibility of signing a truce with Hamas. Yesterday afternoon, they held a protest in front of the former justice minister's house.

"Appointing Saar, who opposes every proposed draft [of a truce], including the framework suggested by Netanyahu himself, is tantamount to a death sentence for the hostages," the main lobby for the hostages lamented in a statement. Aurora and EFE