Yoav Gallant Angry protests after defence minister sacked

Many Israelis have been left reeling by Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to dismiss his popular defence minister in the midst of a multifront war, accusing him of carrying out the move for his own political gain.

- Bethan McKernan

In a surprise announcement late on Tuesday, the prime minister said that he had fired Yoav Gallant over what he described as a "crisis of trust" in the past few months. Gallant, a member of Netanyahu's Likud party and a senior general, has been replaced by the foreign minister, Likud lawmaker and loyalist Israel Katz, who has little military background.

Gallant's dismissal sparked protests across the country on Tuesday evening, including outside Netanyahu's house in Jerusalem. Thousands of people carrying Israeli flags and banging drums blocked roads in central Tel Aviv, calling for the prime minister's removal and a deal to return the 101 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. Police officers used foul-smelling "skunk" water to disperse demonstrators in Tel Aviv.

While it has been rumoured for months that Netanyahu was looking for an opportunity to fire Gallant, his harshest critic inside the government, the timing of the announcement still came as a shock to many.

The prime minister appears to have finally made his move after Gallant renewed efforts this week to draft members of the ultra-Orthodox community into the army, angering Netanyahu's ultra-Orthodox coalition allies. Washington saw Gallant as a moderating influence on Netanyahu and an important conduit thanks to good relationships with his counterpart, Lloyd Austin, and the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken.