Sacked Israeli defence minister says Gaza hostages must be brought home while 'still alive'
by AFP Staff Writers
Tel Aviv (AFP) Nov 5, 2024

Sacked Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday called on the government to bring home the hostages in Gaza while they were "still alive" and insisted that all Israelis of draft age must serve in the military.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed Gallant over a breakdown in trust during the Gaza war against Hamas.

The two have frequently clashed over Israel's retaliatory military offensive against the Palestinian militant groups following its deadly attack on Israel on October 7 last year.

A former general, Gallant shaped the war against Hamas in Gaza but fell out of favour with Netanyahu over the future of the campaign.

Following his dismissal, the 65-year-old Gallant vowed to continue working to ensure Israel's security, saying on X it "was and will always remain the mission of my life".

Gallant also stressed Israel's "moral and ethical commitment to bringing back our sons and daughters, those kidnapped by Hamas."

"We must do this as quickly as possible while they are still alive," he said in a televised statement on late on Tuesday.

"It is possible to bring back the hostages, but it involves painful compromises. The State of Israel will know how to withstand these compromises, and the IDF (military) will know how to secure them."

"We will not be able to bring back those who have already died among the hostages. There is no atonement for the abandonment of the hostages," Gallant said.

He also brought up the issue of military service, at a time when analysts say soldiers are exhausted after more than a year of fighting.

"Everyone must serve in the IDF and participate together in the mission of defending the State of Israel," he said.

"We must not allow a corrupt and flawed law to pass in the Knesset (Israel's parliament) that would exempt tens of thousands of citizens from bearing the burden."

Gallant was referring to members of the ultra-Orthodox community who were historically exempted from mandatory service until a Supreme Court decision in June.

On Monday, Gallant had issued 7,000 additional army draft orders for individuals from the ultra-Orthodox community.

The order came after a first round of 3,000 draft orders were sent out in July, sparking protests from the ultra-Orthodox community.

Since late September, Israel has broadened the focus of its war to Lebanon, where it intensified air strikes and later sent in ground troops, following nearly a year of tit-for-tat cross-border fire with Hezbollah.

US hails fired Israeli defense chief Gallant as 'important partner'
Washington (AFP) Nov 5, 2024 - The United States on Tuesday praised sacked Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant, a key intermediary with Washington fired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Minister Gallant has been an important partner on all matters related to the defense of Israel. As close partners, we will continue to work collaboratively with Israel's next minister of defense," a State Department spokesperson said.

Gallant has served as a main pointperson for the United States in the 13-month war in Gaza and now in Lebanon, with US officials seeing him as a professional without the ideological bent of some in Netanyahu's cabinet.

Just Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by telephone to Gallant to press US demands for greater humanitarian aid into Gaza, with a deadline looming next week in a threat to cut off some US military assistance without progress.

President Joe Biden's own relationship has deteriorated with Netanyahu, who announced Gallant's dismissal just as the United States was electing Biden's successor.

Thousands in Tel Aviv protest Israel defence minister's sacking
Tel Aviv (AFP) Nov 5, 2024 - Thousands of Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv late Tuesday to protest the sacking of defence minister Yoav Gallant, calling on his successor Israel Katz to prioritise a hostage deal to return the captives still held in Gaza.

Chanting slogans against the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the demonstrators carrying Israeli flags gathered in the commercial hub shortly after Gallant's dismissal was announced.

Protesters also blocked traffic and lit fires on the Ayalon highway in Tel Aviv, with some wearing "Bring them home now!" t-shirts referring to the hostages.

They held up signs with slogans such as "We deserve better leaders" and "Leaving no one behind!" and one protester wore handcuffs and a face mask with Netanyahu's likeness.

"Bibi traitor! You're guilty" chanted some, referring to Netanyahu and blaming for failing to prevent the Hamas attack on October 7 last year.

"We, the protesters, believe that Gallant... is actually the only normal person in the government," said 54-year-old teacher Samuel Miller, slamming Netanyahu's administration for opening "new fronts in uncalled-for wars".

"He's doing nothing to safeguard our peace, the peace of the Palestinians, the peace of everybody in this region," Miller told AFP.

He also criticised Netanyahu's government for "doing absolutely nothing to free the hostages" still held in Gaza.

Foreign minister Israel Katz took over the defence portfolio on Tuesday, after Netanyahu fired Gallant over eroded trust over the past months of the Gaza war.

- 'Endangering Israel's security' -

An Israeli group campaigning for the release of hostages in Gaza on Tuesday expressed "deep concern" over the sacking and urged Katz to "prioritise" a deal to free the captives.

"We expect the incoming defence minister, Israel Katz, to prioritise a hostage deal... to secure the immediate release of all hostages," the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.

Gallant also called on the government to bring home the hostages, saying in a televised speech: "We must do this quickly, while they are still alive."

Einav Tzangauker, whose son Matan is among the hostages, was among those protesting against Netanyahu in Tel Aviv.

"If it is possible to replace a defence minister in the middle of a war, then it is surely possible to replace a prime minister who is unqualified to bring back the hostages," she told Israel's Channel 12.

Netanyahu "is intentionally endangering Israel's security and all that because of a dispute between him and Gallant on how to continue the war," she added.

The war erupted on October 7, 2023 after Palestinian militants attacked Israel, resulting in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed 43,391 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry the United Nations considers reliable.

During the October 7 attack, Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages, of whom 97 are still in Gaza. The Israeli military says 34 of them are dead.

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