Benny Gantz is an Israeli lawmaker and current minister-without-portfolio, who currently leads the National Unity party.
He was born in Kfar Ahim, a moshav that his parents helped found. His mother was a Holocaust survivor and his father was arrested by British authorities for attempting to enter pre-state Israel.
Gantz was drafted to the IDF in 1977 and served in the 1982 Lebanon war. He also participated in Operation Solomon, a covert mission that rescued Ethiopian Jews in 1991.
After serving as the IDF's chief of staff, in 2018 Gantz announced the formation of a new political party, what would later become Blue and White. He would eventually become the country's defense minister before joining the opposition and then rejoining an emergency government due to the war against Hamas.
He earned a history degree from Tel Aviv University, a Political Science masters degree from Haifa University and a National Resource Management master’s degree from the United States National Defense University.
He and his wife, Revital, live in Rosh Ha’ayin.
All four have declined to testify before the probe.
Gantz, who previously served as a minister-without-portfolio in Israel's wartime government, called for extensive operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah.
"Israel learned the lesson of Oct. 7; we now bear the responsibility of sharing the lesson with the world," said Gantz in the NYT article.
Democrats chairman Yair Golan said that the missile attack was a "declaration of war" but said that Israel should not be hasty.
Both Lapid and Gantz are providing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a political “safety net” to ensure a deal to rescue the hostages from Hamas captivity.
The leader of the opposition, MK Yair Lapid, called on the government to announce the diplomatic and strategic goals for the northern conflict.
Middle Israel: Gideon Sa’ar's career will be recalled as a tale of political zenith, public courage, and national hope that ended in moral collapse.
The Knesset approved a second 2024 budget, driven by the Israel-Hamas war, with 57 votes for and 51 against.
The Qatari PM came to Paris specifically for this meeting with Gantz.
"We need to make a deal to return the hostages even if it comes at a very painful price."
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