What to Know About Yoav Gallant

by · NY Times

What to Know About Yoav Gallant

The Israeli defense minister was fired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the two clashed over the course of Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip.

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Yoav Gallant at Israel’s Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, after being fired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Credit...Nir Elias/Reuters

By Eve Sampson

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel fired Yoav Gallant, his powerful and popular defense minister, on Tuesday, after the two clashed over the course of Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Mr. Netanyahu announced his decision in a video statement published by his office, saying that “significant gaps on handling the battle” had created a wedge between him and Mr. Gallant. “In recent months, that trust between the defense minister and I was damaged,” the prime minister said.

Mr. Netanyahu named the country’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, who has minimal defense experience, to replace Mr. Gallant.

Here’s more background on the ousted defense minister.

A history of clashes

After the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and led to the abduction of 250 others, Mr. Gallant emerged as the most high-level dissident to Mr. Netanyahu within his own government.

The ousted defense minister, who was a moderate voice on security issues, had been viewed as an internal roadblock to Mr. Netanyahu’s approach to cease-fire talks. Mr. Gallant repeatedly broke with Mr. Netanyahu and urged him to reach a deal to free the remaining hostages in Gaza.

In August, the defense minister questioned the Israeli leader’s goal of “total victory” over Hamas in Gaza, calling it “nonsense.”

The defense minister also suggested that Mr. Netanyahu was letting Israel slide toward long-term military rule in Gaza — a choice that Mr. Gallant said would be disastrous.

Mr. Katz, an ally of the prime minister, is unlikely to stand in the way of Mr. Netanyahu’s approach to cease-fire talks, which critics say have undermined the possibility of a deal.

Even before the war in Gaza, Mr. Gallant had repeatedly clashed with Mr. Netanyahu over the prime minister’s hotly contested plans to weaken the country’s judicial system.

Amid widespread street protests, in March 2023, after Mr. Gallant gave a speech warning that the proposals were tearing the country apart, Mr. Netanyahu sought to fire him.

That attempted dismissal roiled the country further, prompting mass protests and a general strike. Mr. Netanyahu ultimately backed down and walked back his decision to oust Mr. Gallant.

Political and family background

Before entering politics, Mr. Gallant, 65, served as a senior general who led the Israeli military’s southern command, which oversees Gaza. In 2010, he was tapped to potentially serve as the military’s chief of staff, but the appointment never came to pass.

Mr. Gallant joined the Israel Defense Forces in 1974 and served in a commando unit before holding various leadership roles over a 35-year military career.

After leaving the military, Mr. Gallant entered politics, first with a centrist party before switching over to Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud faction. In 2022, about a dozen years after his failed bid to become chief of staff, he became defense minister in Mr. Netanyahu’s right-wing government, taking him to the apex of the Israeli security establishment

Mr. Gallant studied economics and business administration at the University of Haifa and completed a senior management program at Harvard University, according to his Ministry of Defense profile.

He lives in Moshav Amikam and is married to Claudine Gallant, with whom he has three children.

Response to Gallant’s firing

In a televised speech on Tuesday, Mr. Gallant blamed his dismissal on disagreements with Mr. Netanyahu over three issues.

Mr. Gallant said the two differed over:

  • The proposed mandatory conscription of ultra-Orthodox Israelis.
  • A cease-fire deal in Gaza that would secure the release of hostages held there.
  • And Mr. Gallant’s insistence on an independent commission to investigate the security failures that led to the Oct. 7 attacks.

“I’ve been responsible for the security apparatus during the past two years, its successes, failures, and moments of pain,” Mr. Gallant said of his call for an investigative commission. “Only sunlight, and an investigation of the truth, would allow us to draw lessons and build our forces to face the challenges of the future.”

Late on Tuesday, large crowds of protesters opposing Mr. Netanyahu’s firing of the defense minister took to city streets. They blocked traffic and lit bonfires on a major highway in Tel Aviv.

In Jerusalem, protesters also gathered near the Mr. Netanyahu’s residence.

Johnatan Reiss contributed reporting.

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