TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A senior Israeli Cabinet minister traveled to Washington on Sunday for talks with U.S. officials, prompting a rebuke from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to an Israeli official, in a sign that cracks are widening in Israel's wartime government almost deepen five months after the start of the war with Hamas.
The trip by Benny Gantz, a centrist political rival who joined Netanyahu's hardline government in the early days of the war after Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, comes amid deep disagreements over it between Netanyahu and President Joe Biden , how the crisis can be alleviated, to address the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza and to create a post-war vision for the enclave.
The United States was forced to airdrop aid into the Gaza Strip on Saturday after dozens of Palestinians were killed as they headed to collect food from trucks last week. The airdrops bypass a previously unaffordable aid system that has been hampered by Israeli restrictions, logistical problems in Gaza and fighting within the tiny enclave. Aid officials say the airdrops are far less effective than aid sent by truck.
U.S. priorities in the region are increasingly hampered by Netanyahu's hardline cabinet, which is dominated by ultra-nationalists. Gantz's more moderate party has at times acted as a counterweight to Netanyahu's far-right allies.
An official from Netanyahu's Likud party said Gantz's visit came without permission from the Israeli leader. The official said Netanyahu had a “tough conversation” with Gantz about the trip and told him that the country “only has one prime minister.”
An Israeli official said Gantz informed Netanyahu of his intention to travel to the United States and coordinate messaging with him. The official said the visit was intended to strengthen ties with Washington, increase support for Israel's ground campaign and push for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
According to his National Unity Party, Gantz is expected to meet with US Vice President Kamala Harris and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the dispute with the media.
According to most opinion polls, Netanyahu has grown in popularity since the war broke out, and many Israelis blame him for Hamas's cross-border attack that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and about 250 people, including women, children and the elderly , died According to Israeli authorities, adults were kidnapped and taken to Gaza.
According to Gaza's health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, at least 30,410 Palestinians were killed in the ensuing fighting, about two-thirds of them women and children. Around 80% of the 2.3 million residents have fled their homes and UN agencies say hundreds of thousands are on the brink of famine.
Critics say Netanyahu's decision-making was influenced by political considerations, a charge he denies. The criticism focuses in particular on the plans for the post-war Gaza Strip. Netanyahu has released a proposal that would see Israel retain indefinite security control over the area and civil affairs be managed by local Palestinians.
The U.S. wants to see progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state and envisions a renewed Palestinian leadership governing Gaza with an eye toward eventual statehood.
This vision is rejected by Netanyahu and the hardliners in his government. Another senior Cabinet official from Gantz's party questioned the country's handling of the war and strategy for freeing the hostages.
Netanyahu's government, the most conservative and religious ever in Israel, was also rocked by a court-ordered deadline for a new bill to expand military recruitment of ultra-Orthodox Jews, many of whom are barred from pursuing religious studies. The issue has arisen as hundreds of Israeli soldiers have been killed since October 7 and the military seeks to replenish its ranks as the war drags on.
Gantz, who polls show would receive enough support to become prime minister if there were a vote today, is considered a political moderate. However, he remained vague about his views on Palestinian statehood.
A visit to the US could further strengthen Gantz's support if there is progress on the hostage front. Israel has essentially approved the framework of a proposed ceasefire and hostage release deal for Gaza and it is now up to Hamas to agree to it, a senior US official said on Saturday. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with ground rules set by the White House for briefing reporters.
Deeply traumatized by Hamas' attack, Israelis have largely supported the war effort as an act of self-defense, even as global opposition to the fighting has grown.
But more and more people are expressing their dismay at Netanyahu. According to Israeli media, about 10,000 people protested late Saturday calling for early elections. Such protests have increased in recent weeks but are still much smaller than demonstrations against the government's justice reform plan last year.
As political divisions widen and Gantz leaves government, the floodgates will open to broader protests from a public that was already dissatisfied with the government when Hamas attacked, said Reuven Hazan, a political science professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
“There is a lot of anger,” he said, listing complaints that began well before Oct. 7. “The moment you have that anger and a coalition that is not connected to the people, there will be fireworks.”
Netanyahu's government will not collapse if Gantz leaves, but it could lose legitimacy in the eyes of much of the public.
Talks to negotiate a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip resumed in Egypt on Sunday. International negotiators hope to broker a deal that would halt the fighting and release some of the remaining hostages before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins around March 10.
Meanwhile, fighting continued to rage in Gaza, with Israeli strikes late Saturday killing more than 30 people, including women and children, according to local health authorities.
According to Dr. Marwan al-Hams, director of the hospital where the bodies were taken, said at least 14 people were killed in an attack on a house in the southernmost town of Rafah on the Egyptian border. He said the dead, including six children and four women, were all from the same family. Relatives said another nine people were missing under the rubble.
Israeli airstrikes also hit two houses in Jabaliya refugee camp, a dense residential area in northern Gaza, killing 17 people, according to Civil Defense.
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Shurafa reported from Rafah, Gaza Strip and Magdy from Cairo.
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