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Israel-Gaza-Lebanon live updates: Netanyahu fires Defense Minister Gallant

He's replacing Gallant with current Minister of Foreign Affairs Yisrael Katz.

Last Updated: November 6, 2024, 4:13 AM EST

The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza -- particularly in the north of the strip -- and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut.

Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called "precise strikes on military targets" in several locations in Iran following Tehran's Oct. 1 missile barrage.

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Here's how the news is developing.
Nov 05, 2024, 1:21 PM EST

Netanyahu fires Defense Minister Gallant

Protests erupted in Tel Aviv after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and replaced him with current Minister of Foreign Affairs Yisrael Katz.

The prime minister and defense minister must have "complete trust" during war, and "over the past few months this trust has been cracked between me and the Minister of Defense," Netanyahu said in a statement.

PHOTO: Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, left, and Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi attend a ceremony, Oct. 27, 2024, in Jerusalem.
Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, left, and Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, attend a ceremony marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7 last year that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, Oct. 27, 2024, in Jerusalem.
Gil Cohen-Magen/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu said he tried to bridge the gaps, but "they kept widening."

"They also came to the attention of the public in an unacceptable way, and worse, they came to the attention of the enemy - our enemies were pleased with this and benefited greatly from it," he said.

Netanyahu said Katz "has already proven his abilities and his contribution to national security as Minister of Foreign Affairs, as Minister of Finance, as Minister of Intelligence for five years, and no less important than that, as a member of the political-security cabinet for many years."

"He is known as a bulldozer in a combination of responsibility and firmness, quiet firmness," Netanyahu said.

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel, H.E. Israel Katz speaks during the Security Council at the United Nations Headquarters, March 11, 2024, in New York.
John Lamparski/Getty Images, FILE

Families of hostages are critical of Netanyahu’s decision, saying it's "unfortunate proof of the Israeli government's poor prioritization."

"The dismissal of Defense Minister Gallant is a direct continuation of the 'efforts' to torpedo the hostage deal," the families said in a statement. "We demand that the incoming Defense Minister express an explicit commitment to ending the war and implementing a comprehensive deal to return all the hostages immediately."

Gallant said in a brief statement, "The security of the State of Israel was and will always remain the mission of my life."

On Tuesday, Gallant highlighted the three points he said led to his ousting: Gallant believes all Israelis should serve in the Israel Defense Forces while Netanyahu favors exemptions for Orthodox youth; Gallant wants to make compromises to return hostages from Gaza now; and Gallant wants an immediate state commission of inquiry to look into the events that led to Oct. 7.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Nov 05, 2024, 8:50 AM EST

Famine risk looming in north Gaza, health officials warn

Acute food insecurity is a concern across Gaza, but the issue is especially pressing in the northern part of the strip where the Israeli military's ongoing assault has intensified in recent weeks.

A displaced Palestinian child carries a bowl of food near newly set up tents at the Yarmouk Sports Stadium in Gaza City on Oct. 25, 2024.
Omar Al-qattaa/AFP via Getty Images

Dr. Abu Safiyeh -- who works at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya -- said the besieged facility is running out of all food, collecting video footage of the deteriorating situation there.

Safiyeh's warning followed a statement last week from the United Nations' food assistance arm warning that "the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza could soon escalate into a famine unless immediate action is taken."

-ABC News' Nasser Atta and Joe Simonetti

Nov 05, 2024, 8:37 AM EST

Gaza situation 'has not significantly turned around,' US says

The State Department said Monday that Israel has not done enough to improve humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, as a 30-day deadline looms for Israeli officials to meet certain requirements or risk potential restrictions on military assistance.

The U.S. set out its conditions in a letter sent to Israeli officials last month and signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Displaced Palestinians are pictured fleeing the northern part of the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing Israeli military operation there, in Gaza City, on Nov. 5, 2024.
Mahmoud Issa/Reuters

The letter gave Israel until Nov. 12 to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to the devastated Palestinian territory.

"As of today, the situation has not significantly turned around," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

"We have seen an increase in some measurements," Miller continued. "We've seen an increase in the number of crossings that are open. But just if you look at the stipulated recommendations in the letter, those have not been met."

Miller did not say what steps the U.S. would take if the situation did not improve before the deadline. "I don't want to forecast in any way what it is that we'll do at the end of those 30 days," he said.

-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston and Joe Simonetti

Nov 05, 2024, 8:15 AM EST

Deadly Israeli strikes continue in Gaza

Around 30 people were killed by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip on Monday, according to Palestinian health officials.

At least 20 people -- including eight women and six children -- were killed by an airstrike on a home sheltering several displaced families in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, officials said.

A mass grave in a yard is prepared for the burial of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip on Nov. 5, 2024.
Stringer/Reuters

The town is at the heart of Israel's most recent offensive in the northern part of the strip, which officials at the Hamas-run Health Ministry say has killed around 1,800 people and injured another 4,000.

Separate strikes elsewhere in Gaza killed at least 10 people, health officials said.

-ABC News' Bruno Nota and Joe Simonetti