Yoav Gallant
Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi: “We failed to protect civilians at the start of the war—our most important mission.”
Defense minister says Israel to pursue Hamas “across the Middle East” • In Gaza, elite Israeli commandos and Shin Bet intelligence coordinators clear “Hamad towers” of terrorists • Some 250 enemy combatants surrender.
In a meeting with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein in Tel Aviv, the defense minister raised “the ongoing threat” posed by the Lebanese terrorist organization.
Gallant drops a bombshell by announcing he will back an ultra-Orthodox service law only if all parts of the coalition agree.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that the time has come for the government to make far-reaching decisions regarding ultra-Orthodox enlistment.
“We cannot let them have this, and that means we need to do everything we can to bring calm to the area,” said the defense minister.
Netanyahu was angry that Gallant is leaving him to deal with the ultra-Orthodox parties on this matter, threatening the coalition.
Brett McGurk also met with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who said that Jerusalem would “expand the authority given to our hostage negotiators.”
“We are fighting a just war against a brutal enemy,” said the Israeli defense minister.
The Israel defense minister told journalists that 1,468 of UNRWA’s 13,000 staff members in Gaza are members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The defense minister’s warning comes a day after a Hezbollah rocket killed one soldier and wounded eight others wounded in Safed.
Gallant discusses Gaza war effort with U.S. counterpart.
