Month: June 2024

Israeli War Cabinet member Benny Gantz announced his resignation on Sunday over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza. Gantz had threatened to depart the government by June 8 if it didn’t adopt a new plan, giving them a three-week deadline.

Gantz announced his resignation in a televised news conference on Sunday, stating that Netanyahu stood in Israel’s way to “a real victory… that is why we are leaving the emergency government today with a heavy heart, but with a whole heart.” Gantz is a popular former centrist military chief, and one of the prime minister’s most prominent critics. He joined Netanyahu’s government shortly after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in a show of unity. However, he said at the news conference that Netanyahu is making “total victory impossible” and that the government needs to put the return of the hostages seized Oct. 7 by Hamas “above political survival .. that is why we are leaving the emergency government today, with a heavy heart but with full confidence.”

Gantz also called for new elections this fall that will “ultimately lead to the formation of a government that has won the trust of the people and be able to face the challenges” and encouraged the third member of the war Cabinet, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, to “do the right thing” and resign from the government as well. Gallant has previously said he would resign if Israel chose to reoccupy Gaza, and encouraged the government to make plans for a Palestinian administration.

During his resignation address, Gantz said there should be elections this fall “that will eventually establish a government that will win the trust of the people and be able to face challenges. I call on Netanyahu: set an agreed election date. Don’t let our people be torn apart.”

Netanyahu had urged Gantz not to leave the emergency wartime government, saying: “this is the time for unity, not for division. This is not the time to abandon the campaign — this is the time to join forces.” Netanyahu still controls a majority coalition in parliament, but will now need to more heavily rely on his far-right allies.

Netanyahu addressed Gantz in an X post following his resignation: “Citizens of Israel, we will continue until victory and the achievement of all the goals of the war, primarily the release of all our hostages and the elimination of Hamas.”

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According to officials in Greece, the body of missing British TV presenter Dr. Michael Mosley has been found. Mosley, a TV doctor in the U.K., was reported missing on Wednesday, June 5, after he did not return home from a hike on the Greek island of Symi. His body was discovered days later on Sunday, June 9, on a beach in Agia Marina, a Greek island, spotted among rocks on a rugged stretch of coast by a party on a boat that included the local mayor and journalists.

Mosley’s wife Dr. Clare Bailey Mosley said that Michael, 67, had gone missing on Wednesday after going on a walk from the Agios Nikolaos beach. It is not known what happened, but Clare reported Michael missing within hours. According to CCTV footage, a man presumed to be Michael was spotted walking on the other side of the coast amid intense heat and rocky terrain.

Dr. Clare Bailey Mosley said in statement (per BBC.com) that her husband took the wrong route on a hike and collapsed just short of reaching a marina in a place where his body couldn’t easily be seen: “We’re taking comfort in the fact that he so very nearly made it. He did an incredible climb, took the wrong route and collapsed where he couldn’t be easily seen by the extensive search team. Michael was an adventurous man, it’s part of what made him so special. It’s devastating to have lost Michael, my wonderful, funny, kind and brilliant husband. We had an incredibly lucky life together. We loved each other very much and were so happy together. We are so grateful to the extraordinary people on Symi who have worked tirelessly to help find him. Some of these people on the island, who hadn’t even heard of Michael, worked from dawn till dusk unasked.”  Michael and Clare shared four children, who joined the couple on the Grecian holiday: “I am incredibly proud of our children, their resilience and support over the past days. My family and I have been hugely comforted by the outpouring of love from people from around the world. It’s clear that Michael meant a huge amount to so many of you. … I feel so lucky to have our children and my amazing friends. Most of all, I feel so lucky to have had this life with Michael. ”

Per ABC News, Mosley was well known in Britain for his many programs on the BBC, regular appearances on television and radio and his column in the ‘ Daily Mail’ newspaper.  Michael was also a pioneer of the 5:2 Diet, which he started amid a diabetes battle and promised to help people lose weight quickly by minimizing their calorie intake two days a week while eating healthily on the other five. His 2013 book “The Fast Diet,” was co-authored with journalist Mimi Spencer. Spencer told BBC Radio 4: “In person he was very much the sort of figure that you would see on television: immediately likeable, genuinely funny, enthusiastic, he had this innate enthusiasm about life and he was always very generous with his time. He never blew his trumpet, he was quite a humble person.”

Editorial credit: Georgios Tsichlis / Shutterstock.com