Neither Netanyahu or Gantz immediately commented on the court’s decision Tuesday morning. Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Debate — and anger — around exemptions for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students has grown while the country wages war in Gaza, with tens of thousands of soldiers called up to fight.
At least 666 soldiers with the Israel Defense Forces have been killed since Oct. 7, according to the IDF. Of those, 314 were killed in the months since Israel launched its ground operations against Hamas in late October. At least 51 soldiers were killed in “operational accidents,” the IDF says on its website.
There is growing frustration within Israel and on the international stage over Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza, where more than 37,600 people have been killed since Israel launched its offensive following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 250 others taken hostage.
There is little sign of progress toward a cease-fire deal, despite mounting pressure from Israel’s closest ally, the United States, as well as from the families of those who remain held hostage in Gaza.
Hamas announced Tusday that the sister of leader Ismail Haniyeh was among those killed in an overnight strike in the area of the Al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza.
And some hostage families demanded an “urgent meeting” with Netanyahu seeking “clear, decisive statements from him regarding the hostage deal.”
In a statement released by a group that represents them, the families said they were outraged by “inconsistent statements” from the Israeli leader, particularly after he said he would be open to a “partial deal” to return some hostages in order to continue to pursue his war aim of eliminating Hamas’ presence in Gaza.
Netanyahu said Sunday that the “intensive” phase of Israel’s offensive in Gaza would soon end — but that Israel’s focus would shift north toward the country’s border with Lebanon amid mounting hostilities with Hezbollah. And he maintained that even if a truce deal is struck, Israel will continue to operate in Gaza.
“We will continue afterward to mow the lawn. We will not give up on that,” Netanyahu said in an on-camera interview Sunday with Israeli broadcaster Channel 14.
Washington bristled at the comments, with State Department spokesman Matt Miller emphasizing opposition to continued Israeli military control over the Palestinian enclave.
“For us, that’s just a recipe for continued conflict, continued instability, and continued insecurity for Israel,” Miller said in a news briefing on Monday. “It is obviously extremely harmful to the people of Gaza who want to be able to rebuild their lives and rebuild their homes and want to be able to chart a different future.”
His comments came as Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Washington on Monday, with Blinken urging against any “further escalation” that would risk a broader conflict in the Middle East.
Omer Bekin and Reuters contributed.
