Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved his war cabinet that was responsible for key decisions relating to the Israel-Hamas conflict, officials told the Associated Press.

The move comes after war cabinet minister Benny Gantz quit last week, saying the prime minister was making “total victory impossible.” In announcing his resignation, Gantz said the government needs to put the return of the hostages seized Oct. 7 by Hamas “above political survival.”

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the change with the media, said that going forward Netanyahu would hold smaller forums with some of his government members for sensitive issues surrounding the war. 

Critics say Netanyahu’s wartime decision-making has been influenced by ultranationalists in his government who oppose a deal that would bring about a cease-fire in exchange for the release of hostages, according to the AP. Netanyahu denies the accusations and says he has the country’s best interests in mind.

ISRAELI WAR CABINET MINISTER BENNY GANTZ QUITS NETANYAHU’S EMERGENCY GOVERNMENT

The War Cabinet was formed in the early days of the war, when Gantz, a centrist opposition party leader, joined the coalition in a show of unity following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel.

NETANYAHU CRITICIZES MILITARY’S PLANS FOR 11-HOUR DAILY PAUSES IN FIGHTING

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen convening the war cabinet in Tel Aviv.  (Prime Minister of Israel @IsraeliPM on X)

It included Gantz, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant — and together they made important decisions throughout the course of the war.

“Months after the October disaster, the situation in the country and in the decision-making cabinet has changed. Netanyahu and his partners have turned unity into a void call who has no cover. Fateful strategic decisions are met with hesitancy and procrastination due to political considerations,” Gantz said in announcing his resignation. “Netanyahu is preventing us from progressing to a real victory. That is why we are leaving the emergency government today with a heavy heart, but with a whole heart.”

Benny Gantz, a centrist member of the war cabinet, left it last week. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

“This is the time for unity and not for division,” Netanyahu later wrote on X. “We must remain united within ourselves in the face of the great tasks before us. I call on Benny Gantz – do not leave the emergency government. Don’t give up on unity.” 

Fox News’ Bradford Betz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Evan Gershkovich was detained in March 2023 for allegedly ‘spying’ on a Russian defence enterprise in Yekaterinburg.

Russia will hold a closed-door trial for detained US reporter Evan Gershkovich later this month, a court in the city of Yekaterinburg has announced.

The Sverdlovsk Regional Court said on Monday that the first hearing, scheduled for June 26, will occur “behind closed doors”. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has suggested that it would be open to a prisoner swap.

The court said that the reporter, who was working for The Wall Street Journal when he was arrested in the Siberian city last year, is accused of collecting “secret information” in March 2023 “on the instructions of the CIA”.

According to the charges, which carry a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, the journalist was spying on the production and repair of military equipment at the defence enterprise JSC NPK Uralvagonzavod when he was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB).

‘Outrageous’

Following last week’s announcement that Gershkovich would stand trial for his “CIA work”, The Wall Street Journal said the reporter was facing “a false and baseless charge” based on “calculated and transparent lies”.

“Russia’s latest move toward a sham trial is, while expected, deeply disappointing and still no less outrageous,” read a letter co-signed by publisher Almar Latour and editor-in-chief Emma Tucker.

“Evan has spent 441 days wrongfully detained in a Russian prison for simply doing his job. Evan is a journalist. The Russian regime’s smearing of Evan is repugnant, disgusting and based on calculated and transparent lies.”

Latour and Tucker said they expected the US government to increase efforts to secure his release.

Gershkovich has also appealed his detention several times, but his attempts have been fruitless.

The arrest of the first American journalist to be detained on spy charges in Russia since the Cold War shocked Western news organisations, leaving almost no US reporters in Russia.

The White House has called the charges “ridiculous”, with President Joe Biden adding that the detention was “totally illegal”.

Russia said the reporter was caught “red-handed”.

Prisoner swap

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said there has been contact with Washington about a potential prisoner swap for the reporter but insisted that those meetings should be held away from the media.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined on Monday to comment on why Gershkovich’s trial was to be closed, saying it was a court decision.

Russia conducts some of its most secret weapons production and research at the Uralvagonzavod enterprise based in Nizhny Tagil, on which Gershkovich is accused of conducting espionage.

The enterprise – part of Rostec, Russia’s vast defence corporation run by Putin-ally Sergei Chemezov which is under US sanctions – has publicly spoken about producing T-90M battle tanks and modernising T-72B3M tanks.