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Yoav Gallant (; born 8 November 1958) is an Israeli politician and former military officer who served as minister of defense between 2022 and 2024. Gallant was an officer in the Southern Command of the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
, serving in the
Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy (, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'', ; ) is the Israel Defense Forces#Arms, naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily in the Mediterranean Sea theater as well as the Gulf of Eilat and the Red Sea th ...
. In January 2015 he entered politics, joining the new Kulanu party. After being elected to the
Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...
he was appointed minister of construction. At the end of 2018 he joined
Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...
, shortly after which he became minister of Aliyah and Integration. In 2020 he was appointed
minister of education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...
, and the following year became minister of defense. On 5 November 2024, Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
announced that he had dismissed Gallant, effective 7 November, and sought to have
Israel Katz Israel Katz (; born 21 September 1955) is an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset for Likud currently serving as Ministry of Defense (Israel), Minister of Defense and a member of the Security Cabinet of Israel. Katz has been recognized ...
replace him. Gallant subsequently resigned from the Knesset on 5 January 2025. On 21 November 2024, the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
issued an arrest warrant for Gallant along with Netanyahu and three
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
leaders for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
.


Biography

Yoav Gallant was born on 8 November 1958 in
Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...
to Polish Jewish immigrants. His mother, Fruma, was a
Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, its collaborators before and during World War II ...
who had been on the SS ''Exodus'' as a child. Along with other ''Exodus'' refugees, she was deported by the British to
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, and arrived in Israel in 1948. She was a nurse by profession. His father, Michael, fought the Nazis as a partisan in the forests of Ukraine and Belarus, and also immigrated to Israel in 1948. He served in the Givati Brigade in the
1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...
, including the Samson's Foxes unit, and was considered one of the finest snipers in the IDF. He participated in Operation Yoav, during which he was the first soldier to break into the fort at Iraq Suwaydan. He named his son for the operation. In Gallant's youth, the family moved to Givatayim, where he studied at David Kalai High School. He received a BA in Business and Finance Management from the
University of Haifa The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...
. Gallant lives in moshav Amikam. He is married to Claudine, a retired IDF Lieutenant Colonel. They have a son and two daughters. In 2011, Gallant was tapped to succeed Gabi Ashkenazi as the Chief of General Staff by
Defense Minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...
Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( ; born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli former general and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Labor Party between 1997 and 20 ...
. Although his appointment was approved by the government it was overturned due to allegations of building of an unauthorized access road to his home and planting an olive grove on public land outside the boundaries of his property.


Military career

Gallant began his military career in 1977 as a naval commando in
Shayetet 13 Shayetet 13 () is a naval commando unit of the Israeli Navy and one of the primary sayeret, reconnaissance units of the Israel Defense Forces. Shayetet 13 specializes in sea-to-land incursions, counter-terrorism, sabotage, maritime intelligence ...
. In the 1980s, after six years of active service, he moved to
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
and worked as a
lumberjack Lumberjack is a mostly North American term for workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees. The term usually refers to loggers in the era before 1945 in the United States, when trees were felled us ...
. He then returned to the navy and served on a missile boat (including a position as deputy-commander of INS ''Keshet'') and again in Shayetet 13. In 1992, Gallant was earmarked by then-navy commander Ami Ayalon for the command of Shayetet 13, a position he was meant to take up in 1994. Gallant preferred not to study during the two remaining years, and instead moved into the ground forces and in 1993 took up command of the Menashe Territorial Brigade of the Judea and Samaria Division. After serving for three years as commander of Shayetet 13, Gallant moved up to command the Gaza Division. He also commanded the reserve 340th Armored Division (Idan Formation), and in 2001 became the chief of staff of the GOC Army Headquarters. Gallant attained the rank of a major general when he became the military secretary of the
prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
in 2002. In 2005, Gallant was appointed as commander of the Southern Command. During his tenure (that lasted until 21 October 2010),
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
launched the 25 June 2006 Gaza cross-border raid that resulted in the deaths of two IDF soldiers and the capture of a third, Gilad Shalit. The IDF then launched
Operation Summer Rains Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
, that resulted in a decrease of Hamas rocket-fire for some time but failed to free Shalit. Also during his tenure, the Israel Defense Forces embarked on
Operation Cast Lead Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
against Hamas in the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
from December 2008 until January 2009, which again temporarily minimized Hamas rocket-fire but also again failed to find and deliver Shalit, who would be eventually exchanged in 2011 for 1,027 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Gallant commanded the operation and his role in the field and in what was at that time considered the success of the operation gained praise and helped him in the race to chief of staff. However, Gallant and the IDF were criticized for the implementation of the Dahiya doctrine of widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure in the
Gaza War The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
of 2008–09, with the Goldstone Report concluding that the Israeli strategy was "designed to punish, humiliate and terrorize a civilian population".United Nations General Assembly
Report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict
, 25 September 2010
"No Second Thoughts"
The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel
Israeli NGO Yesh Gvul filed suit against Gallant's appointment as IDF chief of staff, claiming that his command role in Cast Lead confirmed him as a suspect in "grave violations of international law." ''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...
'' noted that Gallant lobbied against an investigation of Col. Ilan Malka, the IDF commander who approved the airstrike that killed 21 members of the al-Samouni clan during Cast Lead. Gallant's view was ignored as the military prosecutor general opened an investigation of the incident which was highlighted by the Goldstone Report as a "possible serious breach of international law".


Chief of Staff candidacy

On 22 August 2010 Minister of Defense
Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( ; born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli former general and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Labor Party between 1997 and 20 ...
presented the candidacy of Gallant for the post of the IDF's twentieth
chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...
to the government. It was expected that he would receive the promotion. Gallant's appointment followed a controversy, where a forged document was leaked to Israel's Channel 2 purporting to detail plans by Gallant to smear rival candidate
Benny Gantz Benjamin Gantz ( ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general. He served as a Minister without portfolio#Israel, minister without portfolio from 2023 to 2024, as the Ministry of Defense (Israel), minister of defense bet ...
. On 5 September 2010 the government approved the nomination of Gallant as the next chief of staff, with only
Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...
minister Michael Eitan objecting. Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
said that the incoming IDF chief had "proven his worth during his 33 years of military service at the IDF's frontlines," and that "He's proven himself to be a courageous fighter, an excellent officer, and a responsible and serious battle commander." The PM added that Gallant picked up on a legacy of "dedication and excellence" bequeathed by incumbent IDF chief Gabi Ashkenazi. The cabinet also approved Barak's proposal, according to which Gallant would serve for three years, giving the defense minister power to grant a fourth. On 1 February 2011 Netanyahu and Barak canceled Gallant's appointment as Israel Defense Forces chief. The announcement came after months of scandal surrounding his appointment due to allegations that he had seized public lands near his home in Moshav Amikam. After conducting an investigation into the allegations,
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
Yehuda Weinstein said that his findings "raise significant legal difficulties for the decision to appoint him." Weinstein said that it was up to the prime minister and defense minister to decide whether or not Gallant could take up the post. Earlier in the day, Weinstein notified Netanyahu that he could not defend Gallant's appointment as chief of staff due to legal impediments. On 30 December 2012 the local planning committee administering land ownership issues and building licenses said that Gallant had built his home in the northern community of Amikam on 350m² of property accidentally listed as his, unaware that it was actually public land. The decision did not address two other issues still being investigated by the state comptroller and attorney general: the building of an unauthorized access road to his house and the planting of an olive grove that spilled over the boundaries of his property.


Political career


Kulanu

In January 2015 Gallant joined the new Kulanu party led by Moshe Kahlon. He was placed second on the party's list for the
2015 elections Africa * 2015 Beninese parliamentary election 26 April 2015 * 2015 Burkinabé general election 29 November 2015 * 2015 Burundian legislative election 29 June 2015 * 2015 Burundian presidential election 21 July 2015 * 2015-16 Central African gene ...
, and was elected to the Knesset as the party won ten seats. He was later appointed Minister of Construction in the new government.. In January 2016 the ''New York Times'' published an op-ed by Gallant in which he described how important he believes it is for Jewish and Arab leaders to come together in promoting peace and equality in their shared country. As part of that effort, he and MK Ayman Odeh, leader of the
Joint List The Joint List (, ''al-Qa'imah al-Mushtarakah'', , ''HaReshima HaMeshutefet'') was a political alliance of four of the Arab-Israeli, Arab-majority political parties in Israel: Hadash, Balad (political party), Balad, the United Arab List and Ta' ...
alliance of Arab parties, together visited several Arab Israeli towns. "Together, we examined firsthand the challenges facing Arab Israeli communities so that we could bring about solutions," he noted.


Likud

On 31 December 2018, Gallant quit his post as Housing and Construction Minister to join
Likud Likud (, ), officially known as Likud – National Liberal Movement (), is a major Right-wing politics, right-wing, political party in Israel. It was founded in 1973 by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon in an alliance with several right-wing par ...
. A day later he was appointed Minister of Aliyah and Integration. He resigned from the Knesset and was replaced by the next candidate on the Kulanu list, Fentahun Seyoum on 2 January 2019. After the formation of the
Thirty-fifth government of Israel The thirty-fifth government of Israel (), or the Netanyahu–Gantz government, was the government of Israel which was sworn in on 17 May 2020 and dissolved on 13 June 2021. It was originally expected to be established following the April 2019 ...
Gallant was appointed
minister of education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...
. On 17 January 2021, reacting to a planned speech by the director-general of B'Tselem
Hagai El-Ad Hagai El-Ad (; born October 1, 1969), is an Israelis, Israeli LGBT and human rights activist who served as the director general of B'Tselem between May 2014 and June 2023. Previously, he was director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel ...
at the Hebrew Reali School, Gallant, serving as the minister of education, published a directive to the Education Ministry to forbid all organizations whose causes contradict the Ministry's vision of the country as democratic, Jewish and Zionist, from entering schools. Specifically, Gallant wrote that any organization which cites Israel as an "apartheid state", shall be forbidden from entering education centers in Israel. In 2021, as minister of education, Gallant opposed
Weizmann Institute The Weizmann Institute of Science ( ''Machon Weizmann LeMada'') is a Public university, public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, fourteen years before the State of Israel was founded. Unlike other List of Israeli uni ...
professor
Oded Goldreich Oded Goldreich (; born 1957) is a professor of computer science at the faculty of mathematics and computer science of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel. His research interests lie within the theory of computation and are, specifically, ...
receiving the
Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...
in mathematics, due to him co-signing a 2019 letter that called for the
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...
not to pass legislation defining the
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's ...
(BDS) movement as anti-Semitic. On 8 April 2021 Israel's Supreme Court of Justice ruled in favor of Gallant's petition so that Goldreich could not receive the prize and gave Gallant a month to further examine the issue. In March 2022 the High Court of Israel ruled that the 2021 prize had to be awarded to Prof. Goldreich.


Judicial reform

On 25 March 2023, Gallant spoke out against his own government in support of the protests against the government's proposed judicial reforms. He asked for the government to delay the proposed legislation to allow for negotiations between the ruling coalition and the opposition, which resulted in National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir calling for Gallant's dismissal. Netanyahu announced on 26 March that he was dismissing Gallant, sparking massive protests that night in several major cities across Israel. That night is known as 'Gallant Night' in Israel, possibly as an allusion to the phrase, 'gallant knight'. The following day, Gallant's office stated that he would be continuing in his post, as he had not yet been given an official notice of his dismissal. On 10 April, Netanyahu announced that he would not dismiss Gallant.


Minister of Defense

On 8 August 2023, Gallant warned that Israel would not hesitate to attack
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
and "return
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
to the Stone Age" if Israel was attacked. On 9 October 2023, following the beginning of the
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
and attacks in Israel by
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
militants, Gallant said he had "ordered a complete
siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...
on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly". On 13 October 2023, Gallant met with US secretary of defense Lloyd Austin. Gallant called on Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza, including
Gaza City Gaza City, also called Gaza, is a city in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Gaza Governorate. Located on the Mediterranean coast, southwest of Jerusalem, it was home to Port of Gaza, Palestine's only port. With a population of ...
, saying: "The camouflage of the terrorists is the civilian population. Therefore, we need to separate them. So those who want to save their lives, please go south. We are going to destroy Hamas infrastructure, Hamas headquarters, Hamas military establishment, and take these phenomena out of Gaza and out of the Earth." On 13 October, he said that "Gaza won't return to what it was before. Hamas won't be there. We will eliminate everything." Gallant said he had "released all restraints" as he addressed Israeli troops on the border with the Gaza Strip. In November 2023, Gallant warned that
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
could meet the same fate as Gaza. He made the same warning in January 2024, saying that allowing Hezbollah and Iran to "decide how we live our lives here in Israel" is "something we don't accept." During South Africa's submission to the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...
(ICJ) that Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinians, the president of the ICJ cited Gallant for using the phrase " human animals" in reference to Palestinians. Gallant described South Africa's submission as
antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
. On 25 March 2024, after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, Gallant said that Israel has "no moral right to stop the war in Gaza." On 14 April 2024, Gallant thanked Lloyd Austin and the entire U.S. Administration for "standing boldly" with Israel. On 15 May 2024, during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Gallant convened a press conference in which he criticized Prime Minister Netanyahu for rejecting dealing with the question of "the day after" in the Gaza Strip. The defense minister called on the prime minister to announce that Israel will not control Gaza, and expressed his opposition to a military government in the Strip. On 20 May 2024 an arrest warrant for Gallant, as well as for other Israeli and Hamas leaders, was requested by the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
(ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan as part of the ICC investigation in Palestine, on several counts of
war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...
and
crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...
during the Gaza war. On 20 September 2024, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it was challenging the ICC jurisdiction and the legality of the arrest warrants. On 21 November, the ICC Trial Chamber unanimously rejected Israel's request and indicted Gallant. On 8 June 2024, the Israeli military rescued four hostages in a special operation in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Gallant called the rescue operation "one of the most heroic and extraordinary operations" that he had "witnessed over the course of 47 years serving in Israel's defense establishment." In June 2024 he visited the United States, where he sought to gain support for an escalation of the war with Hezbollah and a possible ground invasion in Lebanon. Following the 2024 Lebanon electronic device attacks, Gallant announced a "new phase" of the war in northern Israel and Lebanon had begun. Just before the blasts, Gallant told the US defense secretary Lloyd Austin that an operation was planned in Lebanon. On 5 November 2024, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that he had dismissed Gallant and sought to have
Israel Katz Israel Katz (; born 21 September 1955) is an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset for Likud currently serving as Ministry of Defense (Israel), Minister of Defense and a member of the Security Cabinet of Israel. Katz has been recognized ...
replace him. Gallant said that his sacking was caused by his desire to see the quick return of Israeli hostages in Gaza and an inquiry into the 7 October attacks, whereas Netanyahu simply attributed it to a lack of trust between the two. Protests against his firing broke out, with many calling for a continuation of the previous protests, known as Gallant Night. On 21 November 2024, the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
issued arrest warrants for Gallant, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Hamas leaders Mohammed Deif,
Ismail Haniyeh Ismail Haniyeh (, ; 29 January 1962 – 31 July 2024) was a Palestinian politician who served as third chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from May 2017 until Assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, his assassination in July 2024. He also served as ...
and Yahya Sinwar for alleged war crimes committed during the
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
. One of the key allegations against Gallant and Netanyahu was the "use of starvation as a weapon of war". The use of starvation as weapon of war is banned by the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
. A few weeks before that the arrest warrants were issued, there were also reports of looting occurring in areas controlled by the IDF.


Retirement

Gallant announced his intention to resign from the Knesset on 1 January 2025 in opposition to the government's proposed draft law. His resignation went into effect on 5 January, and he was replaced in the Knesset by Afif Abed. In February 2025, Gallant admitted that he issued the Hannibal Directive during the 7 October attacks. In an interview with Channel 12, he confirmed of giving the order in certain areas. He also insisted on launching a military offensive in Gaza despite warnings that such an attack could endanger the Israeli hostages held there. He stated, “I think that, tactically, in some places, it was given, and in other places, it was not given, and that is a problem."


Gallery

File:DAZ 0152PS (53406725862).jpg, Gallant with Prime Minister Netanyahu, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, US military chief CQ Brown and IDF Chief Herzi Halevi in Tel Aviv, 18 December 2023 File:U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan Visit to Israel. May 19-20, 2024 36.jpg, Gallant with Joe Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Israel, 20 May 2024 File:United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken visits Israel in August 2024 - 25.jpg, Gallant with US secretary of state
Antony Blinken Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 71st United States secretary of state from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor, deputy national security advisor ...
in Israel, 19 August 2024 File:Israel Katz, the appointed Minister of Defence of Israel and the outgoing minister, Yoav Galant, November 2024. I.jpeg, Gallant with
Israel Katz Israel Katz (; born 21 September 1955) is an Israeli politician and member of the Knesset for Likud currently serving as Ministry of Defense (Israel), Minister of Defense and a member of the Security Cabinet of Israel. Katz has been recognized ...
on 8 November 2024


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Galant, Yoav 1958 births Living people 20th-century Israeli military personnel 21st-century Israeli military personnel Israeli generals Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli politicians Kulanu politicians Likud politicians Members of the 20th Knesset (2015–2019) Members of the 21st Knesset (2019) Members of the 22nd Knesset (2019–2020) Members of the 23rd Knesset (2020–2021) Members of the 24th Knesset (2021–2022) Members of the 25th Knesset (2022–) People from Jaffa People indicted by the International Criminal Court University of Haifa alumni Ministers of defense of Israel Fugitives wanted on war crimes charges Fugitives wanted on crimes against humanity charges Fugitives wanted by the International Criminal Court