Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant officially stepped down Friday, November 8, in a ceremony that replaced him with Israel Katz, the former foreign minister, just three days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Gallant, sparking protests. Many in Israel view Gallant as the sole moderate voice in a far-right government, and see his removal as a sign that Netanyahu has lost interest in returning hostages still held in Gaza. Katz currently serves as foreign minister and is a longtime Netanyahu loyalist and veteran Cabinet minister.
Also Friday, the Israeli military body handling aid to Gaza said it was preparing to open a new aid crossing into Gaza, without specifying when. The Israeli military says it will allow 300 truckloads of humanitarian aid supplied by the United Arab Emirates to enter the Gaza Strip in the coming days. That's less than the 350 trucks per day that the United States said it wants to see enter the war-ravaged territory.
The Israel-Hamas war began after militants stormed into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and abducting 250 others. Israel's military response in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials say. They do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children.
The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says the leader of the Palestinian Authority spoke with United States President-elect Donald Trump for the first time since his victory in the 2024 campaign.
In a statement Friday, Abbas' office in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah said the president congratulated Trump on his victory and wished him success in his upcoming term. The statement said that Abbas told Trump he was ready to work with him in pursuit of peace and that Trump, in turn, "emphasized his commitment to the stop the war."
The phone call follows months of resistance by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Biden administration's push for a cease-fire that would see Israel end the war against Hamas in Gaza. Netanyahu was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Trump, lavishing praise on the former president who during his first term established a record of staunch support for Israel.
Trump's election victory – which many Israelis praised as a win for their country – has cast uncertainty on the future of diplomatic efforts to end the Israel-Hamas war. Any proposed deal would also see Hamas release the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza who were abducted in the group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Trump and Abbas had a particularly rocky relationship during Trump's first term, when his administration reduced outreach to the Palestinians and reversed decades of US policy in the Mideast in Israel's favor.