Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has officially dismissed Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, citing a lack of mutual trust that has widened since the onset of Israel’s wars on Gaza and Lebanon.

Gallant, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party since 2019, will be replaced by Foreign Minister Israel Katz. Gideon Saar, a minister without a portfolio, will step into Katz’s former role.

Following the dismissal of Gallant, leader of ‘The Democrats’ party Yair Golan, has called for daily mass protests and a general strike across Israel.

Another political activist from the youth wing of the left-leaning of the Meretz party, Eliran Bykhovsky, criticised the timing of Gallant’s firing, accusing Netanyahu of exploiting US preoccupation with its election.