Khaled Yousef and Tarek Chouiref
28 July 2025•Update: 28 July 2025
JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of the Security Cabinet on Monday evening as internal disputes escalated, with key ministers threatening to resign, Israeli media reported.
Channel 12 said the agenda covered the war in Gaza, humanitarian aid, and negotiations over a potential prisoner exchange with Hamas.
According to Israel’s public broadcaster KAN, Netanyahu invited far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to attend after previously excluding them from decisions on aid deliveries to the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The meeting followed Smotrich’s threat to step down, after Netanyahu acknowledged that humanitarian aid had entered Gaza despite a long-standing policy of severe restrictions that had pushed the enclave into unprecedented famine.
On Sunday, the Israeli army said it allowed limited airdrops of aid and announced what it called a “localized tactical suspension of military activity” in certain areas to facilitate deliveries.
Humanitarian organizations, however, rejected the move as a mere publicity step, stressing that Israel continues to block vital aid through Gaza’s crossings since March while civilians face starvation.
Smotrich, who had earlier threatened to leave the government if “even a single grain of rice” reached Gaza, now says large amounts of aid are entering without his approval, calling it a political humiliation.
Political sources told KAN that Smotrich was “extremely angry” Netanyahu acted without consulting him, despite his role as a central coalition partner and a member of the inner circle that oversaw Israel’s recent strikes on Iran.
“If the crisis is not resolved in the coming hours or days, his resignation becomes a very real possibility,” the sources said.
Smotrich’s Religious Zionism Party holds seven Knesset seats but is allied with other right-wing parties controlling 14 seats in the 120-member parliament. His departure alone would not topple the government but could destabilize it and pave the way for a no-confidence vote.
The political crisis within Netanyahu’s coalition comes as Israel faces mounting international criticism over its ongoing genocide in Gaza and the famine sweeping the enclave.
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
