Benny Gantz resigned from Israel's wartime cabinet. He announced his resignation from the emergency cabinet meeting on Sunday (June 9) night.
Gantz's resignation is seen as a major blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Calling the decision to step down from the cabinet "difficult and painful," Gantz said at the press conference, "Netanyahu is preventing us from moving towards a real victory."
However, Netanyahu called Gantz's statement "nonsense" and said that such a statement is a defeat for Israel. Earlier, he urged Gantz not to resign.
The former defense minister stepped down from the wartime cabinet apparently due to a dispute with Netanyahu. He gave Netanyahu until June 8 to announce a post-war plan for Palestine in Gaza.
Gantz was due to announce his resignation on Saturday (8). However, Israel's Special Forces rescued four hostages in an unprecedented attack on Gaza. 284 Palestinians were killed in that operation.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Yair Lapid welcomed Gantz's resignation. He also commented that the time has come to change the radical government led by Netanyahu.
On October 7, the Palestinian independence organization Hamas launched a sudden attack on Israel. Israel declared war on that day. An emergency wartime cabinet was formed.
More than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's eight-month-long all-out attack on Gaza. Netanyahu is adamant about continuing the war despite international pressure to declare a cease-fire and post-war plan in Gaza. This led to a split in the wartime cabinet.