Gallant denies request for Knesset subcommittee to visit Gaza, reports Israel Hayom

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant denied a request from Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein to visit the Gaza Strip.

According to Israel Hayom, Edelstein planned to visit Gaza with members of the intelligence subcommittee within the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

This subcommittee, comprising only five deputies - Yuli Edelstein (Likud), Ze'ev Elkin (Yamin Mamlakhti), Ram Ben Barak (Yesh Atid), Yinon Azoulay (Shas), and Danny Danon (Likud) - operates with classified information, inaccessible to the public.

Israel Hayom reported that committee members were frustrated by their exclusion from Gaza. They asserted that their role is to oversee government activities, including those of the Ministry of Defense. They voiced concerns that their inability to access Gaza prevents them from understanding the situation and posing important questions.

Earlier, Defense Minister Gallant turned down a request from Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to visit Gaza during a visit by an unnamed foreign guest to Israel.