War cabinet member Gantz's political party in Israel calls for fresh polls.
The National Unity Party of Gantz, affiliated with the war cabinet, has presented a bill to disband the 25th Knesset, they declared.
The Likud Party, headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, responded by claiming that "dissolving the unity government is a delight" for Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, "a surrender to global pressures, and a crushing setback for efforts to free our hostages."
Regular elections in Israel are not scheduled until the end of 2026. Earlier, the Likud had warned that early elections would hamper the Israeli army's efforts against Hamas. Gantz had set a deadline for the submission of a post-war plan for the Gaza Strip on May 19 and threatened to resign.
The Gaza War began with a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, resulting in at least 1,189 fatalities, according to Israeli records. Moreover, the Islamists abducted 252 individuals as captives in the Gaza Strip.
In response, Israel has been engaging in large-scale military operations in the Gaza Strip since then. As per the latest figures from the Health Ministry under Hamas' control, which cannot be confirmed independently, more than 36,200 people have lost their lives so far.
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