Gallant, Bibi Fight Escalates over Philadelphi, Captives
By Staff, Agencies
“Israeli” war Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and allies reportedly assailed war Minister Yoav Gallant in a security cabinet meeting Sunday that was convened hours after the “Israeli” Occupying Forces [IOF] recovered the bodies of six captives taken by Hamas during its October 7 Al-Aqsa Flood operation.
The meeting came on the eve of a one-day general strike called by the “Histadrut” Labor Federation for Monday, with hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to the streets Sunday evening to demand a captive-ceasefire deal amid swirling anger at the government for not reaching an agreement in time to save the six.
In the meeting Sunday evening, Gallant reportedly called the demand that “Israel” maintain control of the so-called Philadelphi Corridor separating Egypt and Gaza “an unnecessary constraint that we’ve placed on ourselves.” As a result, the government “will not live up to the war goals we set for ourselves,” he warned, according to comments carried widely in Hebrew-language media.
Before the meeting, Gallant posted on X a public call for the high-level security cabinet to meet to reverse a Thursday cabinet vote backing Netanyahu’s insistence on “Israeli” oversight over Philadelphi, a major sticking point in ongoing negotiations with Hamas for a ceasefire deal that includes the release of the remaining 101 captives still held in Gaza.
“The decision made Thursday was reached under the assumption that there is time, but if we want the ‘hostages’ alive, there’s no time,” Gallant reportedly told the ministers. “The fact that we prioritize the Philadelphi Corridor at the cost of the lives of the ‘hostages’ is a moral disgrace.”
The remarks drew hostile responses from other ministers, as well as from Netanyahu, according to reports.
“If we give in to Hamas’s demands, like Gallant wants, we’ve lost the war,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was quoted saying.
The war Minister himself reportedly told Gallant he was sticking to his demands despite the of the six captives.
If “Israel” leaves the Philadelphi Corridor, “the ‘hostages’ will be taken to Sinai, and then to Iran,” Netanyahu said according to reports, adding: “The US already agreed to this, why are you against it?”
However, the outlet claimed that Netanyahu also said he was willing to compromise in other areas aside from the Philadelphi Corridor, maintaining that a captive deal with Hamas was still possible.
Both war Ministers Yariv Levin and Yisrael Katz reportedly accused Gallant of creating a dynamic in which Hamas would receive concessions from “Israel” as a result of the death of captives.
“Where will that lead? What will that do to the negotiations? It’s not hard to imagine,” Levin reportedly told Gallant, drawing an angry response from the war minister.
The war minister was also said to complain to Gallant over the public nature of his call to backtrack Thursday’s decision, telling the meeting: “How can we conduct ourselves if everyone tweets their opinions from the cabinet? When [the cabinet] decides, [the ministers] show solidarity and stand behind it.”
Strategic Affairs war Minister Ron Dermer was reported to say that reversing the Philadelphi decision would “incentivize murder,” adding that “Israel” must “exact a very heavy price from Hamas for ‘murdering’ the hostages.”
Netanyahu also reportedly ordered the government to prepare recommendations within 48 hours for a strong response to Hamas over the death of the six captives.
“We must say clearly that we will respond to this with immense power,” the premier told ministers according to the “Israel” Hayom daily. “If we don’t do this, we will see more such ‘murders’.”
