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People march towards Jerusalem during a rally against the government and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to demand the release of all hostages from Gaza, on March 18, 2025.
How Israel’s new Gaza attacks could benefit Bibi
The party of far-right Israeli politician and former National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has rejoined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government following renewed Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Ben Gvir withdrew his Jewish Power party from the governing coalition in January over the negotiating of the ceasefire. At the time, he expressed a willingness to return to the coalition should Israel resume fighting; true to his word, Jewish Power reunited with Netanyahu’s Likud and several smaller right-wing parties on Tuesday, strengthening Netanyahu’s coalition.
The attacks, which started early Tuesday with widespread bombings and ended the ceasefire in place since Jan. 19, have already killed more than 400 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Mediators from Israel and Hamas, as well as the US, Egypt, and Qatar, attempted to negotiate a second phase of the ceasefire, which was supposed to see Hamas return more hostages in exchange for Israel’s complete troop withdrawal from Gaza. But during the talks, Israel made it clear it hoped instead to extend the first phase to get more hostages back while still keeping troops in place.
The timing, according to Eurasia Group’s Managing Director for Middle East & North Africa Firas Maksad, coincides with Wednesday’s discussion of the 2025 budget by Israel’s Knesset Finance Committee.“Netanyahu has a very fragile government coalition, and an inability to see that budget through by March 31 would mean the collapse of the coalition and having to go to early elections.”
If Netanyahu lost his position, he would have less protection and ability to shape the outcome of his ongoing corruption trial.
“Having Ben Gvir back under the tent gives [Netanyahu] a lot more breathing room and flexibility,” Maksad said.
But the renewed military operations are disastrous for Gazans – who have seen humanitarian aid blocked for two weeks – and for the families of Israel’s remaining hostages.An Israeli protestor points at mounted police officers next to a bonfire on Democracy Square (Kaplan junction) during the demonstration. Over 100,000 of Israelis demonstrated with the hostages families against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding an immediate hostage deal and ceasefire as they set up bonfires on Kaplan Junction.
Israeli war cabinet disbanded amid IDF pauses in Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved the country’s war cabinet on Monday, one week after archrival Benny Gantz resigned, citing a lack of strategy in the war in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military implemented a“tactical pause of military activity” to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians but made it clear that this is not a cease-fire.The daily 11-hour pause began early Saturday along a route leading north from the Kerem Shalom crossing, and aid deliveries are being coordinated with the UN and international aid agencies.
Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were reportedly unaware of the pause before its announcement, with Netanyahu subsequentlytelling his military secretary that it was “unacceptable.” That said, some analysts believe Netanyahu did approve the plan.
The pause, which came as Israel buried 11 soldiers killed in the war, has exacerbated the rift within the Israeli government. “The person who decided on a ‘tactical pause’ … while the best of our soldiers are being killed in battle is a fool and an imbecile who must not remain in office,” said Internal Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claimed the pause risked putting “the achievements of the war down the drain.” Both ministers previously threatened to bring down Bibi’s coalition government if he ended the war, and had lobbied to replace Gantz on the war cabinet.
Tens of thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv in favor of a cease-fire on Saturday night, the start of “a week of action” against Netanyahu’s government. We’ll be watching to see how Bibi navigates the tensions with the military, and what dissolving the war cabinet — which was meant to help unify the country’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks — will have.