Netanyahu acknowledges pager attack despite Israeli ‘opposition’

At a weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu said the attacks and Israeli killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an airstrike on Beirut that same month, were carried out “despite the opposition” of some Israeli officials, according to leaked comments. to the Times of Israel.

Netanyahu’s comments came after he fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Tuesday, the culmination of long-simmering differences between the two over how Israel should fight wars in Gaza and Lebanon. Netanyahu said a “crisis of trust” had arisen between the two. He appointed Foreign Minister Israel Katz to take over the position.

Gallant was a close counterpart of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and the two spoke often. His resignation, on the day of the US election, was seen by some Israeli observers as Netanyahu sweeping under the carpet an attempt to root out dissent in his government. A US official said this was cause for concern.