Former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who had often taken an independent line against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right government allies, said on Wednesday he was resigning from parliament.

Israel's former defence minister Yoav Gallant, who was dismissed in November after spearheading the military campaign in Gaza for more than a year, announced Wednesday that he would resign from parliament.

Gaza Former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, who had several confrontations with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel's war in Gaza before being sacked in November, announced his resignation from parliament on Wednesday evening.

Israel's military said on Thursday its special forces had raided an underground missile production site in Syria in September that it said was primed to produce hundreds of precision missiles for use against Israel by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.

The Israeli military confirmed on Thursday that dozens of its troops were flown into Syria in September to destroy an underground missile factory funded by Iran.Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told journalists in an online briefing that "this precision-guided missile factory was dug in the side of a mountain underground in the area of Masyaf.