A top confidant to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who played a leading role in Jerusalem’s October ceasefire negotiations team, resigned from his ministerial post.

The U.S.-born Ron Dermer began serving as Israeli minister of strategic affairs in December 2022, a position in which he became highly influential in crafting Netanyahu’s response to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack. In his resignation letter, he expressed pride in his role and said he was leaving due to familial commitments, rather than any political disagreements.