Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu On Tuesday, he fired defense minister Yoav Gallant; it was a long-rumored move announced on Election Day in the United States. Netanyahu and Gallant have clashed repeatedly on this issue. The course of the war in Gaza and Lebanon.

Netanyahu said in his statement that Gallant would be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz. Gideon Saar, a former critic of Netanyahu, will become foreign minister and provide support to the fragile ruling coalition that keeps the embattled Israeli leader in power.

“In the midst of war, complete trust between the prime minister and the defense minister is needed more than ever,” Netanyahu said. “Unfortunately, although there was very productive work in the first months of the operation, this trust between me and the Minister of Defense has cracked in recent months.”

Netanyahu added that there were significant “gaps” between the Cabinet’s decisions and what he called the “campaign.”

He added that most members of the Government and Cabinet shared a “crisis of trust” with Gallant.

Gallant said in response Tuesday: “The security of the State of Israel has always been, and always will be, my life’s mission.”

Signs of tension in the Gallant-Netanyahu relationship have emerged in recent months. Gallant was scheduled to meet his US counterpart, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in Washington in early October – a trip Gallant had initiated – but was postponed at Netanyahu’s request.

Gallant, who served in the army for decades, criticized Netanyahu’s approach to the solution. Conflicts with Hamas and Hezbollah.

His dismissal was immediately criticized by opposition leader Benny Gantz, who said it was “politics at the expense of national security”.

In a statement, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum expressed “deep concern” about the decision and how it would affect “the fate of the 101 hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza for nearly 400 days.”

Netanyahu’s decision was welcomed by ultra-nationalist National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who congratulated the prime minister on his move.

“It is not possible to achieve absolute victory with Gallant” Ben-Gvir wrote in a post on X:.

In a nationally broadcast statement in May, Gallant challenged Netanyahu for his refusal to discuss the ceasefire and hostage agreement. He said this would force Israel to govern the Palestinian region again.

“For the future of our country, we must make tough decisions, choosing national priorities above all other possible considerations, even at personal or political cost,” Gallant said over the summer.

In the days after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attacks that Israeli officials said killed more than 1,200 people, Gallant announced the “complete siege” of Gaza.

“There’s no electricity, there’s no food, there’s no water, there’s no gas; they’re all closed,” Gallant said at the time, adding that his army was fighting “human animals” in Gaza, where local officials said more than 43,000 people had been killed.

Netanyahu fired Gallant in March 2023 for publicly disagreeing with the government and trying to stop a controversial plan to overhaul the judicial system. The move sparked mass protests and led Netanyahu to reverse the decision.