Updated 9:53 with Katz statement

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over a breakdown in trust during the Gaza war against Hamas, his office said.

"Over the past few months that trust has eroded. In light of this, I decided today to end the term of the defence minister," Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office, adding that he had appointed Foreign Minister Israel Katz to take his place.

Gideon Saar, until Tuesday a minister without portfolio, was appointed foreign minister following Katz's move to defence. 

Shortly after news of the shake-up broke, Gallant said that working to ensure the country's security would remain the "mission of his life".

"The security of the State of Israel was and will always remain the mission of my life," Gallant said on X, minutes after Netanyahu announced his dismissal.

Newly-appointed Katz vowed on Tuesday to defeat Israel's enemies and achieve the goals of the wars with Hamas and Hezbollah.

"We will work together to lead the defence establishment to victory over our enemies and to achieve the goals of the war: the return of all hostages... the destruction of Hamas in Gaza, the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the containment of Iranian aggression and the safe return of the residents of the north and south to their homes," he said on X. 

Responding to the developments, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum urged the new defence minister to "'prioritise" a deal to free Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza.

"We expect the incoming defence minister, Israel Katz, to prioritise a hostage deal... to secure the immediate release of all hostages," the group said in a statement.

There were reports on Tuesday evening of hundreds of people taking to the streets of the Israeli capital Tel Aviv to protest Gallant's removal.

Hawk on Lebanon

Gallant is a former general who shaped the war against Hamas in Gaza, but fell out of favour with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the future of the campaign.

A hawk on Lebanon, Gallant had in recent months clashed with Netanyahu over the future of the war in Gaza. 

In his eyes, Israel should have shifted its focus more squarely to the northern border with Lebanon, where the military launched a major campaign to stop Iran-backed Hezbollah militants from launching cross-border attacks.

While in sync with Gallant on Lebanon, Netanyahu disagreed with him on the future of Gaza, where the fired defence chief thought Israel should be looking for ways to end the war a year on from Hamas's October 7 attack.

It was on September 18, nearly a year into the war in Gaza, that Gallant declared that "the centre of gravity" of Israel's military campaign was "shifting north" to Lebanon, calling it "the beginning of a new phase of the war, which requires courage, determination and perseverance".

Days later, Israel announced ground troops had begun raids against Hezbollah inside Lebanon, after a spate of attacks that had decimated the powerful group's leadership.

"Gallant was one of the first to support the idea that Israel needed to take the initiative in the north, just days after the October 7 attacks," said Michael Horowitz, a geopolitical expert at the Middle East-based security consultancy Le Beck.

Calev Ben-Dor, a former analyst at Israel's foreign ministry, said the "reasoning was that in a war, it is preferable to fight the more powerful foe first, and Hezbollah's strength far outweighed Hamas'".

'Responsible' image

After a year of war in Gaza, Gallant was seen "rightly or wrongly, as having been prescient, betting on Israel's ability to regain the initiative", according to Horowitz.

A former naval commando, military adviser to late prime minister Ariel Sharon and senior military commander who led Israel's invasion of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in 2008-2009, Gallant established himself as a "responsible" politician, said Ben-Dor.

"He is considered to be focused on winning the war and the perceived national interest, rather than playing petty politics," giving him credit even among Israelis "who do not necessarily share his political views", added the former analyst.

Gallant, 65, faces accusations of war crimes over Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza, which has killed at least 43,391 people, the majority of them civilians, according to figures provided by the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN has described the figures as reliable.

Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in retaliation for Hamas's October 7 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures that include hostages killed in captivity.

In May, International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan laid out charges against Netanyahu and Gallant including war crimes, crimes against humanity and intentionally killing and starving civilians, requesting arrest warrants which have yet to be granted.

'Unifying figure'

Gallant frequently disagreed with Netanyahu, including over controversial judicial reforms that sparked a wave of protests since early 2023 and Gaza truce negotiations.

Horowitz said that the former defence minister was long seen as a more "unifying" national figure than the abrasive prime minister and his far-right allies.

Despite spearheading his country's war effort, Gallant was quoted in August by Israeli media as having dismissed Netanyahu's stated war aim of "total victory" against Hamas in Gaza as "nonsense".

Gallant, a father of three, joined Netanyahu's Likud party in 2019, several years after entering politics with centre-right party Kulanu.