A member of Israel’s three-man war Cabinet has called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to new elections later this year.

What You Need To Know

  • Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to new elections in September

  • Israeli society has grown increasingly divided in recent months as the war in Gaza has dragged on and the government has struggled to return dozens of hostages held captive by Hamas

  • This week, families of the hostages joined a broader protest movement seeking Netanyahu’s resignation and new elections

  • Netanyahu’s Likud Party accused Gantz of playing “petty politics,” saying an election campaign would paralyze the country and hurt the war effort

Benny Gantz made the call in a news conference Wednesday. He says elections are needed to renew the public’s faith in the government.

Israeli society has grown increasingly divided in recent months as the war in Gaza has dragged on and the government has struggled to return dozens of hostages held captive by Hamas.

This week, families of the hostages joined a broader protest movement seeking Netanyahu’s resignation and new elections. Protests this week near Netanyahu’s residence turned violent with clashes between demonstrators and police.

Gantz called for an agreed-upon date for elections in September — two years ahead of schedule. He said that would leave time to continue the war against Hamas “while allowing the citizens to know that we will soon renew the trust between us and prevent a rift among the people.”

Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected calls to step down or hold new elections in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that sparked the war. He says the government must focus on the war.

Since Oct. 7, Netanyahu’s popularity has plummeted in opinion polls, trailing far behind Gantz.

Gantz’s message Monday does not pose an immediate threat. Netanyahu’s governing coalition maintains a parliamentary majority even without Gantz’s support.

Netanyahu’s Likud Party accused Gantz of playing “petty politics,” saying an election campaign would paralyze the country and hurt the war effort.

"Elections now will inevitably lead to paralysis, division, damage to the fighting in Rafah and fatal damage to the chances of a hostage deal," a statement from Likud reads. "The government will continue until all the goals of the war are achieved."

Yair Lapid, a former prime minister and current opposition leader in Israel, wrote in a social media post Wednesday that the country "cannot wait another six months until the worst, most dangerous and failed government in the country's history goes home."

"This government needs to go home as soon as possible so that we can return the kidnapped, return the evacuees home, defeat Hamas and make sure that someone takes care of the Israeli middle class," he wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.