In a scathing interview aired Thursday, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of repeatedly hesitating to use military force against Hamas and Hezbollah, undermining a potential hostage-ceasefire deal, and failing to implement a political strategy to build on Israel’s military gains in Gaza. Gallant, who was dismissed by Netanyahu in November, broke his silence in his first Israeli television interview since leaving office. Speaking with Channel 12’s Uvda, he did not hold back in criticizing Netanyahu’s handling of the ongoing war, arguing that Israel had squandered a critical opportunity to strike Hezbollah early in the conflict. Gallant revealed that just days after Hamas launched its brutal October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, he had pushed for an immediate large-scale offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon. According to Gallant, intelligence indicated that Hezbollah’s senior leadership, along with high-ranking Iranian officials, were gathering in a known location on October 11. A well-planned aerial strike, he argued, could have wiped out much of Hezbollah’s command structure, including its leader, Hassan Nasrallah. “We knew that senior officials from Hezbollah were going to convene. We could have attacked from the sky and taken out heads of Hezbollah and also Iranians—Nasrallah, all the rest. The entire top echelon of Hezbollah,” Gallant asserted. However, when he presented the plan to Netanyahu, the prime minister declined to authorize the attack, citing concerns about Hezbollah’s retaliatory capabilities. According to Gallant, Netanyahu feared Hezbollah’s response would devastate northern Israel, pointing to buildings outside his office and warning, ‘You see these buildings? All of this will be destroyed.’ Gallant firmly rejected that reasoning. “Hezbollah as a military organization would have ceased to exist—no leadership, no missiles or rockets, most of its operatives killed in the field,” he claimed. Beyond the military front, Gallant accused Netanyahu of delaying crucial decisions regarding the Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7. He contended that a more favorable hostage deal had been available in early July 2024 but was rejected under political pressure. “We could have brought more hostages home, earlier, and at a lower cost,” Gallant lamented. “The proposal in early July, that Hamas agreed to, is identical to the deal now—just worse in several ways. There are fewer hostages alive, I’m sorry to say. More time has gone by, and we’re paying a heavier price.” Gallant blamed Netanyahu’s political maneuvering for the failed deal, alleging that leaks to right-wing ministers, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, led to its collapse. When Smotrich discovered that Israel was considering withdrawing from the Netzarim Corridor in exchange for 18 hostages, he threatened to quit the government, effectively derailing the negotiations. “It took a few days for Hamas to understand what was happening from the Israeli media, and they backed out of the deal,” Gallant explained. “And it only came back at the end of May, through the president’s speech.” Gallant also revealed that Netanyahu was hesitant to launch the IDF’s ground invasion of Gaza, fearing massive Israeli casualties. According to the former defense minister, Netanyahu estimated thousands of Israeli soldiers would die in the operation, an assumption Gallant strongly disputed. “I told him, there won’t be thousands killed—and beyond that, what do we have an army for? If after they kill a thousand of our citizens, kidnap them, murder women and children and […]