June 9, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Our live coverage has ended for the day. Read the latest on Benny Gantz's resignation here.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called on Benny Gantz to change his mind and return to the emergency cabinet. 

"Benny, this is not the time to abandon the campaign — this is the time to join forces,” Netanyahu said to Gantz in a post on X.

"Citizens of Israel, we will continue until victory and all the goals of the war have been achieved, most importantly, the release of all our hostages and the elimination of Hamas," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu said his door remained open to any political party that is ready to share in the burden of fighting the war against Hamas, and will "help bring victory over our enemies and ensure the security of our citizens."

Israeli minister Benny Gantz has quit the country's war cabinet, criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an obstacle to victory in Gaza. He had threatened to leave the emergency government if Netanyahu did not present a new plan for defeating Hamas, freeing hostages and the post-war governance of Gaza by this weekend.

Gantz, who is Netanyahu's primary political rival and leads him in public opinion polls, called for the prime minister to hold an election in the coming months.

Gantz's resignation comes shortly after a surprise Israeli operation that freed four hostages from Nuseirat, in central Gaza. The raid also led to the deadliest day of Israel's war in Gaza in six months, with at least 274 people killed in the Nuseirat operation alone, Gazan health officials said. CNN cannot independently verify the toll.

Here’s what else to know if you’re just joining us today:

• Netanyahu under pressure: Netanyahu hailed the Israeli military’s “heroic operation” to rescue the hostages, but faces significant domestic pressure to retrieve the remaining 120 hostages, political tension at home with both Gantz and far-right leaders, and international pressure to end the war in Gaza and the harm to civilians there.
• Palestinian leader demands UN meeting: Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas has called for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council to discuss what the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called “a gruesome massacre” by Israel as it rescued the four hostages.
• US response to raid: US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said an “enduring ceasefire” deal between Israel and Hamas is “the only credible path forward” for returning remaining hostages after Saturday's deadly rescue. Sullivan acknowledged the toll to civilians and laid blame on Hamas for putting innocent Palestinians "in the crossfire" by holding hostages "right in the heart of crowded civilian areas."
• Regional condemnation: Leaders from Egypt, Lebanon, Iran and Kuwait have condemned Israel's strikes on Nuseirat. The leaders of the four countries described them as a breach of international and humanitarian law, and called for Israel to be held accountable.
• Egypt's warning: An Egyptian official also told CNN that Israel’s security operation in Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday will have a “negative effect” on negotiations to end the war in Gaza. 
• Dozens arrested in Tel Aviv: Thirty-three people were arrested on Saturday in anti-government protests in Tel Aviv, according to police, as demonstrators blocked roads demanding the release of all hostages held in Gaza and calling for a ceasefire deal.

Outgoing Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold an election in the coming months as he announced his resignation from the country's emergency government, eight months after the October 7 Hamas attacks.

"We need to hold elections that will eventually establish a government that will win the trust of the people and be able to face challenges," Gantz said in his televised announcement. "I call on Netanyahu: set an agreed election date. Do not let our people be torn apart," he added.

Gantz said he was quitting the war cabinet because "the situation in the country and in the decision-making room has changed."

Gantz said Netanyahu was putting his own personal political considerations ahead of a post-war strategy for the Gaza Strip.

"Fateful strategic decisions are met with hesitancy and procrastination due to political considerations," he said.

Some context: Gantz is viewed as Netanyahu's primary political rival, and Israeli opinion polls suggest that he would win an election against the prime minister if one were held now.

Gone from the war cabinet. Gone from the government. Benny Gantz is back where he was at the start of the war Hamas launched on October 7: an ex-defense minister, ex-chief of staff, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief political rival.

You can’t say he didn’t warn us. On May 18, he announced that if Netanyahu didn’t come up with a coherent plan to bring the hostages home and for the governance of post-war Gaza (among other things), then he’d leave the war cabinet by June 8. In light of Saturday's rescue of four Israeli hostages, he delayed making good on his threat — by a day. 

"Leaving the government is a complex and painful decision," Gantz said in a news conference on Sunday evening in Israel. But, "Netanyahu prevents us from moving forward to a real victory (in Gaza)."

So what now? The three most pressing areas of interest where Gantz’s resignation may be felt — at least for Israelis, the Palestinians in Gaza, and the outside world — are the Israeli government, the running of the war with Hamas, and Gantz’s own political prospects. 

Perhaps the most important impact of Gantz’s departure is the one it won’t have: it won’t cause the government to collapse.

“Benny Gantz is in a fix,” former Middle East negotiator Aaron David Miller told CNN on Sunday before Gantz’s resignation. “He would like to remain in the government, he brings a sort of moderating hand, but he does not have the potential right now to down the government.” 

That’s because Netanyahu and his coalition partners still have 64 of the Knesset’s 120 seats. So unless President Biden’s — sorry, Israel’s — hostage deal gets done, and Netanyahu’s far-right ministers make good on their threats to leave the government, Netanyahu could safely stay in office until elections are due in October 2026 (opinion polls suggest that if they were held now, Gantz would win).

It remains to be seen what a Gantz-free government means for the Palestinians in Gaza. Gantz is no dove, and his "moderating" hand was unlikely to have resulted in Israel going any "easier" on Hamas, or causing fewer civilian casualties.

But both Gantz and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have no qualms about disagreeing publicly with Netanyahu, and they may have been able to call him out if the prime minister were to block a potential hostage deal for personal political reasons. With Gantz gone, that seems less likely — as does the likelihood of a hostage deal being consummated any time soon.

Key Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz quit Israel's emergency government on Sunday, criticizing Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he announced his resignation.

"Leaving the government is a complex and painful decision," Gantz said in a televised statement. But, he said, "Netanyahu prevents us from moving forward to a real victory (in Gaza)."

"That is why we are leaving the emergency government today — with a heavy heart, but with a whole heart," the former Israeli defense minister said.

Some background: Gantz, who is viewed as Netanyahu's primary political rival, was originally expected to resign Saturday, which marked his self-imposed deadline to leave the government if Netanyahu did not lay out a new plan for the war in Gaza and the future of the enclave. He postponed a scheduled news conference as reports emerged of the Israeli operation to rescue four hostages in central Gaza.

Gantz's departure deals a blow to Netanyahu, who faces mounting international pressure to end the conflict in Gaza, daily mass protests in Israel, and growing domestic political pressure.

What this means for Israel's government: Gantz's withdrawal from the government will not collapse Netanyahu’s majority in the country's legislature, because Gantz is not part of the governing coalition. But it does risk further isolation for the embattled premier on an international stage.

It also leaves the war cabinet, set up four days after Hamas’ October 7 attack, without representation from any political party other than Netanyahu’s Likud.

Former Israeli defense minister and key war cabinet member Benny Gantz is speaking to reporters as uncertainty surrounds his continued membership in the country's wartime emergency government.

The war cabinet — which includes Gantz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant — met just before Gantz started speaking, an Israeli official told CNN.

How we got here: Gantz was originally expected to resign Saturday, which marked his self-imposed deadline to leave the government if Netanyahu did not lay out a new plan for the war in Gaza and the future of the enclave.

Gantz, who is viewed as Netanyahu's primary political rival, postponed a scheduled news conference yesterday as reports emerged of the Israeli operation to rescue four hostages in central Gaza. Gantz later released a statement that did not address whether he would still leave the government. He celebrated the rescue but also noted Israel's remaining challenges, including freeing the other 120 hostages still held in Gaza.

Netanyahu, meanwhile, called late Saturday for Gantz to stay in the emergency government, saying it is a time for the country to show unity.

More context: Gantz's withdrawal from the government would not collapse Netanyahu’s majority in the country's legislature, because Gantz is not part of the governing coalition. But it would risk further isolation for the embattled premier on an international stage.

This comes at a time of daily mass protests in Israel, with many demonstrators calling for immediate elections and the hostages’ release, and some wanting an end to further humanitarian aid being allowed into Gaza. Netanyahu also faces growing domestic political pressure from the country's far-right, while the US and some Israelis urge him to accept a ceasefire deal with Hamas.

This post has been updated to reflect the war cabinet meeting and Gantz speaking.

US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said an "enduring ceasefire" deal between Israel and Hamas is "the only credible path forward" after an Israeli hostage rescue mission that Gazan officials say killed at least 274 people.

“The best way to get all of the hostages home and to protect Palestinian civilians is to end this war. And the best way to end this war is for Hamas to say ‘yes’ to the deal President Biden announced and that Israel has accepted, which lays out a roadmap to an enduring ceasefire and the return of all hostages,” Sullivan told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.”

US President Joe Biden unveiled the three-phase proposal late last month, saying Israel had submitted the plan, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments since have left some doubt over his level of support for the proposal as laid out by Biden.

Civilians in harm's way: Sullivan acknowledged the civilian toll of Israel's military operation Saturday while saying Hamas, which took the hostages during its deadly October 7 attacks on Israel, was putting Palestinians in harm's way.

“The president himself has said in recent days that the Palestinian people are going through sheer hell in this conflict because Hamas is operating in a way that puts them in the crossfire, that holds hostages right in the heart of crowded civilian areas,” he added.

Pressed by Bash on whether the US was comfortable with how the mission was carried out, Sullivan called for a diplomatic solution “where there’s no need for military operations to get every last hostage out.”

US Sen. Tom Cotton also laid blame on Hamas for keeping hostages in civilian areas Sunday. "You shouldn't take hostages in the first place. You should release them once you have, and you certainly shouldn't hide them in civilian areas," Cotton told Fox News.

The Arkansas Republican said the operation, which has drawn condemnation from regional leaders, was "heroic" and "well-executed."

CNN's Ebony Davis contributed reporting to this post.

Israel’s deadly operation to free four hostages from central Gaza on Saturday has received condemnation from some global leaders after 274 Palestinians were killed in the raid, according to figures from the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces disputes those numbers, saying it estimates the casualties were “under 100.” CNN cannot independently verify death tolls from the enclave due to the lack of international media access. Video and eyewitness accounts detailed scenes of horror during the operation at the Nuseirat refugee camp.

Here's what we've heard from leaders who condemned Israel's attack:

• Egypt: Egypt’s foreign ministry condemned “in the strongest terms the Israeli attacks on Nuseirat Camp,” saying they constituted a violation of international humanitarian law, the country’s State Information Service said Saturday.  
• Lebanon: Lebanon’s foreign ministry condemned the “massacre committed by Israel in the Nuseirat camp,” the country’s National News Agency reported Sunday. The ministry claimed the attacks amounted to a “serious and clear violation of international humanitarian law,” and called on the international community and United Nations to "move immediately and decisively to stop these massacres and attacks."
• Iran: Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani “strongly condemned the heinous crimes” at Nuseirat refugee camp on Saturday, the ministry said in post on X. 
• Kuwait: The foreign ministry said Sunday that the attack was “in flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law.” It urged the international community and the UN Security Council to stop what it called Israel’s aggression against Palestinians, and stressed the need to deliver humanitarian aid and provide protection to people in Gaza.