Israel-Gaza updates: Gantz rejects Netanyahu's request, resigns

He said Netanyahu is "preventing us from progressing towards a true victory."

Last Updated: June 9, 2024, 2:51 PM EDT

As the Israel-Hamas war continues, negotiations are apparently stalled to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization, and Israeli forces continue to launch incursions in the southern Gazan town of Rafah ahead of a possible large-scale invasion.

Jun 01, 2024, 4:32 PM EDT

Israeli government says it wasn’t told Biden would mention permanent cease-fire

An Israeli government official said the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office wasn’t informed that President Joe Biden’s Friday remarks would include a permanent end to the fighting.

Israeli soldiers walk through an alley during military operations in the Gaza Strip, May 27, 2024.
Israel Defense Forces/AFP via Getty Image

“If you listen to what Biden said, you come to the impression that we agree to a permanent cease-fire without, or, without our conditions being met, and that's not the case,” the official said.

The official said the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was informed 30 minutes before that Biden was giving a speech. The official said Netanyahu was told that the speech would focus on the hostages, with no mention of implementing a permanent cease-fire.

Israeli soldiers drive a tank near the Israeli-Gaza border, in southern Israel, May 29, 2024.
Tsafrir Abayov/AP

A senior U.S. official said the Biden administration "engaged with the Israelis at multiple levels before the president delivered the speech." The official said the U.S. specifically engaged with the Israeli Prime Minister's Office and the Israeli war cabinet.

The official also pointed to when Biden said in his speech that it was a proposal that the Israelis agreed to. The official noted that Netanyahu himself said that it was an Israeli proposal.

An Israeli official and two other Israeli sources who are familiar with the matter told ABC News that what Biden presented is indeed the outline of the Israeli proposal. The sources said the proposal was approved by all war cabinet members, including Netanyahu, and sent to the mediators earlier in the week.

The sources added that there are “interpretation gaps,” referring to the way the outline was presented by Biden.

Biden presented on Friday what he said was an Israeli proposal to draw the war in Gaza to a close.

Palestinians inspect a tent camp damaged in an Israeli strike during an Israeli military operation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 28, 2024.
Hatem Khaled/Reuters

Biden said the deal had been transmitted to Israel and Hamas, through Qatar.

The president said the first phase would last for six weeks and include a "full and complete cease-fire, a withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza [and] release of a number of hostages." Palestinians would also be able to return to their homes and 600 trucks of humanitarian aid would be delivered to Gaza every day.

A man carries a child, as Palestinians travel on foot along with their belongings as they flee Rafah due to an Israeli military operation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 28, 2024.
Hatem Khaled/Reuters

The second phase would include a release of all remaining living hostages and the temporary cease-fire would become a permanent cease-fire with Israel withdrawing all forces from Gaza "as long as Hamas lives up to its commitments," Biden said.

In phase three, there would be a major reconstruction of Gaza.

-ABC News’ Britt Clennett, Dana Savir and Michelle Stoddart

Jun 01, 2024, 3:54 PM EDT

Right-wing Israeli ministers against deal

Right-wing Israeli Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir spoke out on social media Saturday, both threatening to leave the government if the deal in its current form is accepted.

"I have now spoken with the Prime Minister and made it clear to him that I will not be part of a government that will agree to the proposed outline and end the war without destroying Hamas and returning all the abductees," Smotrich wrote.

This comes after the Hostage Families group released a statement urging Israel's parliament to embrace the deal.

Related Topics