Israel’s War Cabinet Minister Gantz Postpones Statement After Hostage Rescue

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel’s centrist war cabinet minister Benny Gantz postponed a statement he was due to make on Saturday, in which he was widely expected to announce his resignation as prime minister Benjamin Netanyahuemergency government.

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

But following news that Israeli forces had rescued four Israeli hostages from Gaza alive, the minister’s spokesmen said his statement would be postponed. They did not give a new time for the speech, in which political commentators at major Israeli newspapers said he was expected to announce his resignation.

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

With Gantz’s departure, Netanyahu would lose the support of a centrist bloc that helped expand support for the government in Israel and abroad, at a time of growing diplomatic and internal pressure, eight months after the start of the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu would have to rely more heavily on the political support of ultranationalist parties, whose leaders angered Washington even before the war and who have since called for a return to a full Israeli occupation of Gaza.

This would likely increase tensions already apparent in relations with the United States and intensify public pressure domestically, with the months-long military campaign yet to achieve its stated objectives – the destruction of Hamas and the return of the remaining 120 hostages held. in Gaza.

Gantz’s departure may also indicate limited prospects for success in the latest ceasefire efforts, according to political analysts, who say he would be more likely to stay on if a deal seemed more likely.

Polls show that Gantz, a former army commander and defense minister, is the most formidable political rival of Netanyahu, whose image as a security hawk was dented by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

He joined a unity government shortly after October 7, saying he was setting aside political considerations of national interest.

(Reporting by Maayan Lubell, editing by Helen Popper)