Middle East latest: Israeli defense minister officially steps down

Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant officially stepped down Friday in a ceremony that replaced him with Israel Katz, the former foreign minister, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Gallant earlier this week.

Israel has been rocked by Gallant’s dismissal, with the news setting off mass protests across the country. Many in Israel view Gallant as the sole moderate voice in a far-right government, and see his removal as a sign that the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu has lost interest in returning hostages still held in Gaza.

Israel Katz, his replacement, currently serves as foreign minister and is a longtime Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister.

Also Friday, the Israeli military body handling aid to Gaza, COGAT, said it is preparing to open a new aid crossing into Gaza as the deadline for a U.S. deadline to increase desperately-needed aid into the war-ravaged territory approaches. But the body did not say when the crossing will open nor if aid will be delivered to north of Gaza, where the UN and aid groups say the humanitarian situation is most dire.

The United Nations humanitarian office says Israel's monthlong offensive in northern Gaza is preventing the estimated 75,000 to 95,000 Palestinians in the north from receiving essential items for their survival.

On Thursday, the Israeli military says it will allow 300 truckloads of humanitarian aid supplied by the United Arab Emirates to enter the Gaza Strip in the coming days. That's less than the 350 trucks per day that the United States said it wants to see enter the war-ravaged territory.

The Israel-Hamas war began after militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others. Israel's military response in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. They do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children.

Hezbollah began firing into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Since the conflict erupted, more than 3,100 people have been killed and some 13,800 wounded in Lebanon, the health ministry reported.

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Here’s the latest:

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday he was appointing Yechiel Leiter as Israel’s new ambassador to the U.S.

U.S.-born Leiter will replace ambassador Michael Herzog, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office.

Leiter has been a close aide to Netanyahu and was formerly the deputy director general of Israel’s education ministry and chief of staff to the minister of finance. His son was killed while fighting in Gaza in November.

Netanyahu said Leiter was a “highly talented diplomat, an eloquent speaker,” with a “deep understanding of American culture and politics.” Leiter has been a senior fellow at the Kohelet Policy Forum, a conservative Jerusalem think tank.

Leiter lives in the settlement of Eli in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

JERUSALEM — Israel says it is preparing to open a new aid crossing into Gaza as the deadline for a U.S. deadline to increase desperately-needed aid into the war-ravaged territory approaches.

The Israeli military body handling aid to Gaza, COGAT, said it has built inspection facilities and paved roads around the Kissufim crossing, located near the center of the Gaza. It says food, aid, and fuel will soon be able to be delivered through the crossing, but did not say when it will open nor if aid will be delivered to north of Gaza, where the UN and aid groups say the humanitarian situation is most dire.

Since Israeli forces unleashed a fierce offensive on north Gaza in early October, no aid has made it to the northernmost reaches of the territory, where the UN says roughly 70,000 Palestinians still remain.

The opening of the crossing likely reflects an Israeli desire to ramp up aid ahead of a US-imposed deadline. In an Oct. 13 letter sent to Israeli officials, US officials said Israel had 30 days to increase the daily number of aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip to 350 or risk the US reconsidering arms shipments to Israel -- which have been key to Israel’s war against Hamas militants in Gaza.

Israel has so far fallen far short of this benchmark, with COGAT figures showing an average of 57 trucks a day entering Gaza. In the first seven days of November, the average has been 81.

JERUSALEM — Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant officially stepped down Friday in a ceremony that replaced him with Israel Katz, the former Foreign Minister, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Gallant earlier this week.

Israel has been rocked by Gallant’s firing, with the news setting off mass protests across the country. Many in Israel view Gallant as the sole moderate voice in a far-right government, and see his dismissal as a sign that the far-right government of Benjamin Netanyahu has lost interest in returning hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas militants.

Gallant thanked the military and warned that the war’s “mission is not yet complete; we must meet our moral and traditional obligation, and the war’s objective is to bring home the remaining 101 hostages who haven’t yet seen their families and homes.”

Israel Katz, his replacement, currently serves as foreign minister and is a longtime Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister. Katz thanked Gallant and said the war’s objectives were to “stop Iranian aggression and deny its capabilities, continue dismantling Hamas as a governing and military force, and defeat Hezbollah.” He added that returning the hostages was a top “moral priority.”

“Yoav, we were friends and will remain friends because we believe in the same things that will secure Israel’s security and future, the Jewish state,” he said. “I promise that the entire State of Israel will emerge from this war and from the pain to much higher places.”

ANKARA, Turkey - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he hopes US President-Elect Donald Trump will fulfil promises to end the conflict in the Middle East and tell Israel to “stop” its aggression.

Speaking to a group of journalists on a return flight from Hungary, Erdogan also said that cutting off U.S. arms support to Israel “would be a good start” toward ending the conflict in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

“We want that promise to be fulfilled and for Israel to be told to ‘stop,’” Hurriyet newspaper and other media quoted Erdogan as saying on Friday.

Turkey has become one of Israel’s most vocal critics, accusing the country of committing genocide in Gaza and strongly criticizing Western nations for backing Israel.

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