JERUSALEM—Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s three-man war Cabinet, announced his resignation on Sunday.
The move does not immediately pose a threat to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who still controls a majority coalition in parliament.
Mr. Gantz said that Mr. Netanyahu is making “total victory impossible” and that the government needs to put the return of the hostages seized on Oct. 7, 2023, by Hamas terrorists “above political survival.”
The former military chief joined Mr. Netanyahu’s government shortly after the Hamas attack in a show of unity. His presence also boosted Israel’s credibility with its international partners. Mr. Gantz has good working relations with U.S. officials.
Mr. Gantz had previously said he would leave the government by June 8 if Mr. Netanyahu did not formulate a new plan for postwar Gaza.
He scrapped a planned news conference Saturday night after four Israeli hostages were dramatically rescued from Gaza earlier in the day in Israel’s largest such operation since the eight-month war began.
