The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has fired his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, a figure widely considered by Israel’s international allies to be a brake on the far-right elements of the country’s coalition government, prompting protests around Israel. Netanyahu said in a video statement late on Tuesday that “significant gaps on handling the battle” in Gaza had emerged. “At the height of a war, complete trust is needed between the prime minister and the defence minister … In recent months, that trust between me and the defence minister was damaged,” he said. The move prompted protests across the country. Israel Katz, a fellow Likud party member currently serving as foreign minister, will replace Gallant. The leader of the centre-right New Hope, Gideon Saar, who rejoined Netanyahu’s coalition in September, will serve as foreign minister. Katz posted on X: “We will work together to march the security system to victory against our enemies and to achieve the goals of the war: the return of all the abductees as the most important value mission, the destruction of Hamas in Gaza, the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the containment of Iranian aggression and the return of the residents of the north and south to their homes in safety.”