Yoav Galant, the minister at the head of the military offensive against Hamas – L’Express

Since then, he has emerged as a key figure in the Israeli offensive, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday the establishment of a war cabinet, within which Yoav Galant could be preparing a ground incursion in the Gaza Strip. Having succeeded Benny Gantz as Minister of Defense at the end of 2022, this former deputy from Likud, the conservative party of Benjamin Netanyahu, has behind him a long experience within various IDF commands.

Aged 64, he is the former southern commander of the Israeli army. It was with this uniform that he led the 2008-2009 offensive in the Gaza Strip against rocket fire from the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas. Having caused the deaths of 1,400 Palestinians, the operation known as “Cast Lead” led to Israel being accused by the UN Human Rights Council of possible “war crimes”. NGOs criticizing the Jewish state for having targeted civilians and soldiers indiscriminately.

It was in the 1970s that this son of Polish Jews who survived the Holocaust, born in 1958 near Tel Aviv, began his military career in the navy. In 1994, he became commander of the elite Shayetet 13 unit. Eight years later, in 2002, the man who obtained the rank of general became the military attaché of the Prime Minister at the time, Ariel Sharon.

Once designated to become chief of staff, his promotion was aborted in 2011, following allegations that he had illegally appropriated public land near his Moshav Amikam residence, according to the news site Israeli Ynet News. This appointment was at the time, according to Israeli journalist Ron Ben Yishai, “a message addressed to Syria, Iran, or Hezbollah”: in the event of a threat, the IDF would not hesitate to respond. Yoav Galant would indeed have stood out during his military career and his commands for his “offensive” personality, particularly in the Gazan enclave.

Departing from the army for a while, Yoav Galant became a deputy for the right-wing Likud party (formerly Kulanou) in 2015. He then held the positions of Minister of Construction (2015-2019), Integration (2019-2020) then Education in (2020-2021). While he is in charge of Construction, he is cited in 2016 in the Panama Papers.

During his political career, Yoav Galant became known for “his support for the expansion of the Jewish presence in the West Bank”, by defending “colonization projects […] demanding in particular the legalization of illegal outposts, not officially recognized by the Israeli government”, noted about him The Times of Israelupon his appointment as Minister of Defense in 2022.

Close to Benjamin Netanyahu, their alliance has not escaped the political crisis opened by the highly contested justice reform project. Having deviated from the government line, by speaking out in favor of suspending the measure which was tearing the country apart, Yoav Galant was threatened with dismissal by the Israeli Prime Minister, before the latter backpedaled in the face of criticism .

For less than a week, Yoav Galant has been at the forefront of the political scene in Israel, having promised a severe response to the abuses committed by Hamas. “Hamas wanted a change in Gaza, it will change 180 degrees from what they thought. They will regret this moment. Gaza will never return to what it was” he declared on Tuesday in front of a IDF unit that fought near Kibbutz Be’eri, according to Israeli channel i24. “I have lifted all restrictions – we kill everyone who fights us, we use all means,” he insisted.

According to the latest counts, the results of the clashes of recent days between Israel and Hamas have already caused the deaths of 1,200 Israelis and 1,354 Palestinians.