Israel Katz, former Israeli foreign minister, was named defense minister after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Yoav Gallant from the post.
Mr. Netanyahu said he no longer had confidence in Mr. Gallant's handling of Israel's military operations, which include an ongoing war in Gaza and Lebanon.
Below is some information about Mr. Katz:
* Born in 1955 in the Israeli coastal town of Ashkelon, Mr. Katz was drafted into the army in 1973 and served as a paratrooper, leaving the service in 1977. He did not hold any military command post high level, unlike his predecessor Gallant, who had been a general before becoming defense minister in 2022.
* Katz, a member of Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, has been a member of the Knesset (parliament) since 1998. In the Knesset, he served on several committees, including foreign affairs, defense and justice.
* He has held several ministerial positions over the past two decades, including in agriculture, transportation, intelligence, finance and energy. He was appointed foreign minister in 2019.
* As foreign minister, Mr Katz declared Antonio Guterres persona non grata in October for what he said was the UN secretary-general's failure to “unequivocally” condemn the missile attack of Iran against Israel and for what he described as anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli behavior.
* Also in October, he ordered his ministry to take legal action against French President Emmanuel Macron after Paris banned Israeli companies from participating in a military naval exhibition.
* Mr Katz has been a low-key figure in interactions between Israel and the United States during US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's 11 trips to Israel since October 7, 2023. The top US diplomat has only had few meetings with Katz, while Blinken met regularly with Gallant.
* Mr. Katz was educated at the Hebrew University of Israel. He is married and has two children.
