Benny Gantz, who quit Israel’s war cabinet, is a centrist politician with dreams of toppling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
The former army chief and defence minister had little political experience when he launched the centre-right National Union Party in 2019 with the explicit goal of ousting Mr Netanyahu from power.
Mr Gantz, five years later, is looking to ride a wave of mounting public outrage over Mr Netanyahu’s failure to return hostages held in Gaza more than eight months after the war with Hamas broke out.
The war began with the Palestinian militants’ 7 October attack on southern Israel which resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Militants also abducted 251 hostages during their attack, 116 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 41 the army says are dead.
Days later, Mr Gantz joined a war cabinet chaired by Mr Netanyahu and became a minister without a portfolio in his rival’s administration, labelled the “Unity Government”.
“Israel above all,” Mr Gantz, one of the main opposition leaders at the time, said on social media.
“That is why we are leaving the emergency government today with a heavy heart.”
His departure is not expected to bring down the government, a coalition including religious and ultra-nationalist parties.
But it is the first major political blow to Mr Netanyahu during the war, reflecting rising domestic pressure over its conduct.
Israel’s retaliatory military offensive targeting Hamas in Gaza has killed at least 37,084 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
‘Only the strong survive’
Mr Gantz prompted the ire of Mr Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party in March when he made an official visit to Washington.
He continued his political manoeuvring in the following weeks, calling for early legislative elections and issuing an ultimatum to Mr Netanyahu: agree to a plan for post-war Gaza by 8 June or Mr Gantz would quit the government.
Last month, his party said it had submitted a bill to dissolve parliament and hold an early election – in which it would have little chance of success against Mr Netanyahu’s coalition.
Since his entry into politics, Mr Gantz has fought several electoral battles against Mr Netanyahu, without ever truly defeating him.
Early on, he tried to play up his defence background, releasing campaign videos in 2019 titled “only the strong survive” that highlighted military operations in Gaza.
He formed a power sharing alliance with Mr Netanyahu in May 2020 as part of an effort to address the Covid-19 pandemic, but Mr Netanyahu did not honour the deal.
That led to fresh polls in 2021, after which Mr Gantz joined a coalition led by Yair Lapid.
