The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported on Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing to dismiss Defense Minister Yoav Galant and appoint the head of the right-wing nationalist party Gideon Sa'ar in his place, but Netanyahu's office denied it.

For some time now, there have been escalating disagreements between Netanyahu and Galant over the possibility of launching a large-scale war on Lebanon and the failure to reach an agreement with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to exchange prisoners and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The broadcaster quoted an unnamed official in Netanyahu's office as saying that Netanyahu is preparing to dismiss Galant within a short period of time. It added that Netanyahu's inner circle is negotiating with Sa'ar to replace Galant.

When the broadcasting authority published this news, Galant, a leader in Netanyahu's Likud party, was participating in a security session at the Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Quoting an unnamed political official, Likud said on its Telegram account: There is a great deal of convergence in the negotiations to appoint Sa'ar to replace Galant.

Netanyahu denies

Netanyahu's office denied the news, saying in a statement that the publications related to negotiations with Gideon Sa'ar are incorrect.

Israeli Channel 12 said that Sara Netanyahu, the Prime Minister's wife, withdrew her approval to assign the Defense Ministry to Gideon Sa'ar.

Channel 12 Israel (private) also quoted unnamed people close to Sa'ar as saying that there is nothing new on the issue.

On Monday, the Broadcasting Authority said that Galant supports exhausting diplomatic efforts to contain the crisis with Hezbollah, while Netanyahu wants to launch a large-scale military campaign.

Galant also believes that any military operation in Lebanon will affect the possibility of returning Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip, because the army will be forced to transfer forces from the Gaza Strip to the northern front on the border with Lebanon, according to the authority.

She added that sources close to the Prime Minister warned that the Minister of Defense would be dismissed if he continued to stick to his opinion.

For months, there have also been ongoing disagreements between Galant and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who said, via the X platform today: “For months, I have been calling on Prime Minister Netanyahu to dismiss Galant, and it is time to do so immediately.”

He stressed that the decision must be made in the north, and Galant is not the right man to lead it, referring to a large-scale military operation in Lebanon.

The commander of the northern region of the Israeli army, Uri Gordin, recommended, during closed meetings, occupying a security buffer zone in southern Lebanon, and confirmed the readiness to implement this step, according to the newspaper Israel Today.