JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday dismissed his popular defense minister, Yoav Gallant, in a surprise announcement that came as the country is embroiled in wars on multiple fronts across the region. The move sparked ...

Yoav Gallant had emerged as one of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fiercest and most public critics over his approach to the war in Gaza and the failure to reach a hostage deal with Hamas.

Netanyahu and Gallant have repeatedly been at odds over the war in Gaza. Netanyahu had avoided firing his rival until world’s attention was focused on the U.S. presidential election.