MK Benny Gantz on Saturday evening called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as fellow opposition leaders to establish a temporary emergency government tasked with tackling two of Israel’s most urgent challenges: securing the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and advancing legislation on the ultra-Orthodox military draft.

The Blue and White-National Unity chairman made the offer at a primetime press conference, addressing Netanyahu, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, and Yisrael Beytenu chief Avigdor Liberman.

Evoking Holocaust imagery to describe the state of the captives, Gantz warned that “the hostages are in mortal danger” and that military reservists “are collapsing under the burden” after nearly two years of war since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.

He proposed forming what he termed a “government of hostage redemption and equality in the [military] burden,” with a clear six-month mandate, after which the country would head to new elections — moving up the current timetable from October 2026.

Making it clear he believed Netanyahu was currently avoiding a Gaza deal due to political pressure from his far-right allies rather than valid security considerations, Gantz called on him to ditch them and think first of the nation.

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“In Hamas’s tunnels, there are 50 hostages… Every hostage whose life is at risk could be our son, your son,” Gantz said, underscoring the urgency of reaching a political framework that could enable a deal with Hamas.

The former defense minister emphasized that his initiative was not about bolstering Netanyahu’s political standing, but about addressing two national crises.

To his critics on the center-left, he said, “I don’t want to save Netanyahu, but to save the hostages.”

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אידיוט, ולא ממש שימושי – הוא מי ששונא את ביבי יותר משהוא רוצה להחזיר את החטופים. pic.twitter.com/k8xDDedl58 — כחול לבן (@Kachollavan19) August 21, 2025

Last week, as reports emerged that he was considering joining Netanyahu to pass a Gaza deal, his party responded to a Walla news article calling Gantz a “useful idiot,” saying: “An idiot, and not too useful, is someone who hates Bibi more than they want to bring back the hostages.”

Less than an hour after Gantz’s press conference, Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu party issued an ambivalent response.

“Yisrael Beytenu calls for all the hostages to be returned now, without conditions,” the party said in a statement. “The only government that we will be part of is a wall-to-wall Zionist government, and we won’t take part in any spin.”

Liberman has publicly clashed with Netanyahu over security policy, the ultra-Orthodox draft, and accusations of corruption in recent years.

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Gantz’s proposal marks the third time in recent years that he has proposed entering a unity arrangement under Netanyahu. In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he joined an emergency unity government that collapsed after less than a year, after Netanyahu was widely seen to have wriggled out of his power-sharing agreement with Gantz.

Gantz’s decision to join Netanyahu’s government in 2020, despite his campaign promise not to, cost him significant public support. Many of his voters felt betrayed, and the then-Blue and White alliance quickly fell apart as Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid and Moshe Ya’alon’s Telem broke away. Left with a smaller faction, Gantz saw his party’s standing in the polls collapse.

He again joined Netanyahu in the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, when his party, now titled National Unity, entered a wartime emergency government. That arrangement ended in June 2024, when Gantz withdrew, citing frustrations with Netanyahu’s management of the conflict and lack of a clear strategy for the war.

Gantz’s current Blue and White-National Unity party is struggling in the polls, especially since his key party colleague Gadi Eisenkot resigned almost two months ago, and has lately been predicted to fail to win any seats if elections were held today.

Beyond saving the hostages, key to Gantz’s new proposal is the contentious issue of mandatory military service for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students. Israel’s coalition, heavily reliant on the support of Haredi parties, has resisted sweeping reforms to the decades-old exemption system. Critics argue that the arrangement unfairly burdens non-Haredi Israelis, particularly at a time when tens of thousands of reservists have been mobilized for extended periods since October 7.

Gantz framed his initiative as an opportunity to legislate a more equitable system while addressing the mounting social and military strain on IDF reservists. By setting a six-month timeline, he emphasized that the emergency government would have a narrow focus before returning power to the voters.

It remained unclear how Netanyahu or Lapid would respond to Gantz’s proposal. Lapid has in the past called for broad national unity but has been reluctant to join a government under Netanyahu.

Gantz’s gambit comes as pressure intensifies on the government to reach a deal for the remaining hostages in Gaza, and as the IDF grapples with the long-term sustainability of its reserve system.

“Not to save Netanyahu – to save the hostages”

Anticipating attacks from critics, Gantz dismissed accusations that his move was designed to prop up Netanyahu.

“I know, soon the poison factories will get to work. They will say I want to save Netanyahu. That is not true: I want to save the hostages,” he said. “Some will say I am doing this because of the polls. I will remind them that I joined governments twice: once with 33 mandates and the second time when my party was leading in the polls.”

Gantz has a history of unity governments with Netanyahu, including one formed after the October 7 Hamas attacks. But he later bolted, accusing the prime minister of blocking “real victory” in Gaza.

Mixed reactions from rivals

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Lapid, in an earlier Channel 12 interview, warned Gantz against repeating past mistakes:

“You’ve been deceived twice, why would you go in again? Do you want to be deceived a third time?”

Liberman was even harsher, dismissing the initiative as “a pitiful show. I saw a tired, scared, terrified person there who is begging for his life and is taking a ride on the most sensitive issues.”

Yisrael Beytenu later clarified it would only consider joining “a broad Zionist government, and we will not take part in any spin.”

Blue and White hit back, arguing that Gantz’s plan was about action, not theater: “To bring back the hostages and to support those who serve, one must take initiative, not sit in the stands and hand out advice.”

The leaders of several opposition parties on Sunday balked at Blue and White-National Unity chief Benny Gantz’s call to form a “government of hostage redemption” and join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to secure a hostage deal and set election dates, calling the move “pitiful” and saying that there was “no reason” to join the government.

In a Saturday evening press conference, Gantz had called on Netanyahu, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, and Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman to form a unity government with a six-month mandate, urging his fellow opposition party leaders to join the coalition on a temporary basis to focus on securing the release of hostages held in Gaza and advancing legislation to address ultra-Orthodox enlistment in the military.

The former defense minister also urged Netanyahu to ditch Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who have threatened to bring down the government if he agrees to a ceasefire deal to return the hostages.

Responding to Gantz’s plea, Liberman called it “a pitiful show,” telling Channel 12 that he “saw a tired, scared, panicked person there who is begging for his life and taking a ride on the most sensitive issues. The Likud [party led by Netanyahu] does not pay attention to him.”

His party also released a statement opposing the plan: “Yisrael Beytenu calls for all the hostages to be returned now, without conditions. The only government that we will be part of is a wall-to-wall Zionist government, and we won’t take part in any spin.”

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Lapid, the head of the Yesh Atid party, said in an interview with Channel 12 that he “doesn’t understand” why Gantz wants to join forces with Netanyahu.

“I will not sit in the government under Benjamin Netanyahu, period. I think he is a person who is not worthy of being the prime minister of Israel,” Lapid declared, saying “one who was the prime minister on October 7 cannot be the prime minister anymore.”

“There is no reason in the world to enter the government,” Lapid said, adding that he has offered his party’s support to ensure that a hostage deal can pass a vote without joining the coalition.

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Lapid said that he can provide a “safety net” for the return of the hostages with “a fifteen-minute phone call.”

“You don’t have to enter the government for that,” he said. “Especially a government that you have already entered twice and have twice been deceived.”

Gantz has joined two “unity governments” with Netanyahu, one in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which collapsed after less than a year after Netanyahu was widely seen to have wriggled out of his power-sharing agreement with Gantz.

He again joined Netanyahu in the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, when his party, now titled National Unity, entered a wartime emergency government. That arrangement ended in June 2024 when Gantz withdrew, citing frustrations with Netanyahu’s management of the conflict and lack of a clear strategy for the war.

Also speaking out against Gantz’s proposal was National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who said: “I expect all the heads of the coalition factions to make it clear unequivocally: Gantz will not enter the government.”

“We achieved achievements without Gantz in Iran, we achieved achievements without Gantz against Hezbollah, we achieved achievements in all kinds of sectors. And if we want to achieve an achievement in Gaza — Benny Gantz must not enter the government,” the far-right minister said.

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Gantz’s faction has undergone a string of recent defections and now controls only seven seats in the Knesset, while coordinating with an eighth member who recently left the party. The party’s numbers would not adequately replace the 13 MKs controlled by Smotrich and Ben Gvir, and would not give Netanyahu a majority in the 120-member body.

His party is also struggling in the polls, especially since his key party colleague Gadi Eisenkot resigned almost two months ago, and has lately been predicted to fail to win any seats if elections were held today.

Gantz’s gambit comes as pressure intensifies on the government to reach a deal for the remaining hostages in Gaza, and as the IDF grapples with the long-term sustainability of its reserve system.

Efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza have intensified over the past week, as mediators have scrambled to sign a deal before Israel carries out its newly approved mission to conquer Gaza City and displace the million-plus Palestinians that are currently sheltering in the area.

Fifty hostages remain held captive in Gaza — 49 of the 251 taken hostage on October 7, 2023, and the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014. Israeli officials have declared that 28 of them are dead, while 20 are believed to be alive and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others.

A fire broke out Sunday at a Russian nuclear power plant after the country’s military downed a Ukrainian drone, the facility says after the blaze was put out.

The “device detonated” upon impact at the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant in western Russia, sparking a blaze which the facility says “was extinguished by fire crews.”

There were no casualties from the drone smashing down at the site, where capacity was reduced.

“The radiation background at the industrial site of the Kursk NPP and the surrounding area has not changed and corresponds to natural levels,” the plant writes on Telegram.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly warned of the dangers of fighting around nuclear plants following Russia launching its military offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.

The plant is near the Russia-Ukraine border and sits to the west of Kursk city, the region’s capital with a population of around 440,000.

Russia now controls around a fifth of Ukraine, including the Crimean peninsula, which it annexed in 2014.

The fighting has killed tens of thousands, forced millions to flee their homes and destroyed cities and villages across the east and south of Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly rebuffed calls by Kyiv and the West for an unconditional and immediate ceasefire.

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