INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
will not pose an immediate threat to the government
But it could have a serious impact nonetheless, leaving Netanyahu reliant on hardliners, with no end in sight to the Gaza war and a possible
escalation in fighting with Lebanese Hezbollah.Last month, Gantz presented Netanyahu with a June 8 deadline to come up with a clear
day-after strategy for Gaza, where Israel has been pressing a devastating military offensive against the ruling Palestinian militant group
Hamas.Netanyahu brushed off the ultimatum soon after it was given.On Sunday, Gantz said politics was clouding fateful strategic decisions in
media post, telling Gantz it was no time to abandon the battlefront.With Gantz gone, Netanyahu would lose the backing of a centrist bloc
that has helped broaden support for the government in Israel and abroad, at a time of increasing diplomatic and domestic pressure eight
heavily on the political backing of ultra-nationalist parties, whose leaders angered Washington even before the war and who have since
called for a complete Israeli occupation of Gaza.This would likely increase strains already apparent in relations with the United States and
intensify public pressure at home, with the months-long military campaign still not achieving its stated goals - the destruction of Hamas
and the return of more than 100 remaining hostages held in Gaza.Polls have shown Gantz, a former army commander and defence minister, to be
the most formidable political rival to Netanyahu, whose image as a security hawk was shattered by the Oct
7 attack by Hamas on Israel.Warning that the conflict in Gaza could take years, he urged Netanyahu to agree on an election date in the
autumn, to avoid further political infighting at a time of national emergency.Gantz joined a unity government soon after Oct
