After freeing Israeli hostages, Netanyahu asked Gantz not to resign from emergency government

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahuasked the War Cabinet Minister this Saturday Benny Gantz He plans to make a public appearance today that he canceled after the successful rescue of four hostages in Gaza, saying he has not abandoned national unity and the emergency government.

“I urge Benny Kants not to abandon the emergency government. “Don’t abandon unity”PM wrote publicly on his X account.

Kantz, of the center-right National Unity Party, had planned to announce tonight that he was stepping down from the emergency government and war cabinet, but he canceled what appeared to be an expected announcement after the army released news of the rescue. .

“This is a time for unity, not a time for division. We must be united in facing the great tasks ahead of us,” the prime minister said, marking a victory over the rescue operation with public opinion, which has been demanding months to release a cease-fire agreement with Hamas. All hostages.

Kants, on the other side, He was the only leader to accept Netanyahu’s demand to form a wartime government of national unity. He also achieved a position in the tiny War Cabinet, where he was one of three voting members, along with the Prime Minister and the Defense Chief. Yoav Gallant.

But in mid-May he issued an ultimatum to Netanyahu: He would quit the cabinet. If he does not announce a post-war plan for the Gaza Strip Something that didn’t happen before June 8, so he was expected to resign today.

As Netanyahu’s coalition retains a majority in the Knesset (Israeli parliament), his departure carries more symbolic weight than practical weight, but Gantz is now one of the most influential political figures in Israel, putting more pressure on the prime minister.

For his part, the Prime Minister said this Saturday “Israel Will Not Surrender to Terrorism”Following the October 7 rescue of four hostages in Gaza following an attack by Hamas commandos in southern Israel.

The military identified the four hostages who were freed: One woman – Noa Arkhamani, 26 years old – and three men: Almok Meir Jan, 22 years old, Andriy Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41.

An Israeli agent was killed in the rescue operation, police said.

“The security forces have demonstrated that Israel will not surrender to terrorism and that it is working with boundless creativity and courage to bring hostages home,” Netanyahu said.

“We will not surrender until we complete our mission and bring back all our hostages, living and dead.”He added the head of government from the room overseeing military operations.

According to an AFP tally, Israel launched an all-out war against the ruling Hamas terror group in Gaza on October 7, with the militants killing 1,194 people, mostly civilians, in the south of the country. Based on official Israeli data.

Militants abducted 251 people, 116 of whom are still being held in Gaza, including 41 dead, the Israeli military said.

(With information from EFE and AFP)