Israeli war cabinet disbanded amid IDF pauses in Gaza

An Israeli protestor points at mounted police officers next to a bonfire on Democracy Square (Kaplan junction) during the demonstration. Over 100,000 of Israelis demonstrated with the hostages families against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding an immediate hostage deal and ceasefire as they set up bonfires on Kaplan Junction.
An Israeli protestor points at mounted police officers next to a bonfire on Democracy Square (Kaplan junction) during the demonstration. Over 100,000 of Israelis demonstrated with the hostages families against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding an immediate hostage deal and ceasefire as they set up bonfires on Kaplan Junction.
Matan Golan / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved the country’s war cabinet on Monday, one week after archrival Benny Gantz resigned, citing a lack of strategy in the war in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military implemented a“tactical pause of military activity” to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians but made it clear that this is not a cease-fire.The daily 11-hour pause began early Saturday along a route leading north from the Kerem Shalom crossing, and aid deliveries are being coordinated with the UN and international aid agencies.

Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were reportedly unaware of the pause before its announcement, with Netanyahu subsequentlytelling his military secretary that it was “unacceptable.” That said, some analysts believe Netanyahu did approve the plan.

The pause, which came as Israel buried 11 soldiers killed in the war, has exacerbated the rift within the Israeli government. “The person who decided on a ‘tactical pause’ … while the best of our soldiers are being killed in battle is a fool and an imbecile who must not remain in office,” said Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed the pause risked putting “the achievements of the war down the drain.” Both ministers previously threatened to bring down Bibi’s coalition government if he ended the war, and had lobbied to replace Gantz on the war cabinet.

Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv in favor of a cease-fire on Saturday night, the start of “a week of action” against Netanyahu’s government. We’ll be watching to see how Bibi navigates the tensions with the military, and what dissolving the war cabinet — which was meant to help unify the country’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks — will have.

More from GZERO Media

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 17, 2025.

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

A federal judge set up a showdown with the Trump administration on Wednesday with a ruling that threatens to find the government in contempt if it fails to comply with a judicial order to provide due process to Venezuelans deported to a prison in El Salvador.

Gavin Newsom speaks at the Vogue World: Hollywood Announcement at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood, CA on March 26, 2025.
Photo by Corine Solberg/Sipa USA

California governor Gavin Newsom kicked off a campaign to promote Canadian tourism in his state, pitching its sunny beaches, lush vineyards, and world-class restaurants.

An employee checks filled capsules inside a Cadila Pharmaceutical company manufacturing unit at Dholka town on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, India, April 12, 2025.
REUTERS/Amit Dave

Donald Trump’s administration announced that it is opening investigations into pharmaceutical and semiconductor supply chains, which will likely result in tariffs that will hurt suppliers in Europe, India, and Canada.

Anderson Clayton, chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party speaks after Democrat Josh Stein won the North Carolina governor's race, in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S., November 5, 2024.
REUTERS/Jonathan Drake

As the Democrats start plotting their fight back into power in the 2026 midterms, one issue has come up again and again.

People gather after Friday prayers during a protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, in Amman, Jordan, on April 4, 2025.
REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak

Jordanian authorities announced on Wednesday the arrest of 16 people accused of planning terrorist attacks inside Jordan. The country’s security services say the suspects had been under surveillance since 2021, and half a dozen of them were reportedly members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Islamist organization.