New Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz expressed his desire on Tuesday to defeat the "enemy" and achieve the "goals of the war" against the Palestinian movement Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah.
"We will work together to lead the Department of Defense to victory against the enemy and to achieve the goals of the war - the return of the hostages, the destruction of Hamas, the defeat of Hezbollah, the containment of Iranian aggression and the safe return of the people of the north and south (of Israel) to their homes," Katz wrote on the social network X .
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced earlier on Tuesday that he had fired Defense Minister Yoav Galant, his longtime rival in the conservative Likud party, citing a lack of mutual trust as the reason.
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Several hundred people have gathered in Tel Aviv to condemn the dismissal of Galant.
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Minister without portfolio Gideon Sar will replace Katz as head of diplomacy, according to Israeli media.
"Unfortunately, although there was trust and fruitful work in the first months of the war, during the last months that trust broke between me and the Minister of Defense," Netanyahu said in a video statement.
In the letter from Netanyahu's cabinet, it is written that Galant's mandate will end in 48 hours after he receives the letter.
The Israeli leader said that he disagreed with Galant in the conduct of the war and that Galant made decisions and made statements that were contrary to the government's decisions.
In addition, he accused him of indirectly helping Israel's enemies.
"I tried to bridge that gap, but it was getting bigger," Netanyahu said, adding that the public was aware of it in an unacceptable way and even worse, the enemy found out, enjoyed and benefited from it.
Netanyahu said that most members of the government agree with him.
The decision to remove him was made at a time of tension in Netanyahu's coalition over the recruitment of ultra-Orthodox Jews and on the day of the presidential election in the United States of America (USA).
On Monday, Galant approved the recruitment of 7.000 ultra-Orthodox Jews into the army.
He stated on Tuesday that the security of the State of Israel has always been and will be his life's mission.
Members of the opposition condemned Netanyahu's decision to fire the defense minister.
A former member of Netanyahu's war cabinet, which no longer exists, Benny Gantz said that this is politics at the expense of national security.
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