Kenya's Beatrice Chebet sets world record in 10,000 meters

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Beatrice Chebet of Kenya set a world record in the 10,000 meters at the Prefontaine Classic meet on Saturday, finishing in 28 minutes, 54.14 seconds.

Chebet bested the previous record of 29.01.03 set by Ethiopia's Letesenbet Gidey at FBK Stadium in the Netherlands on June 8, 2021.

Chebet finished ahead of Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia, who finished in 29:05.92 in cloudy and cool temperatures at Eugene's Hayward Field.

Chebet started to pull away with three laps to go, then poured herself into the final lap.

"My body was responding good and I felt strong," she said. “I felt like I was very comfortable.”

It was her first 10,000 race since 2020 in Nairobi.

Chebet, 24, won the silver medal at the 5,000 meters at the world championships at Hayward Field in 2022. She won the bronze in the event at the worlds last year in Budapest.

The finish qualified her for her first Olympics this summer in Paris. She said Saturday she hopes to double in the 5,000 and 10,000.

“But my target is to run 5,000 first, then 10,000 comes second,” she said. “Because this is my first 10,000 outside the country to run, and I’m so happy to run 28, a world record.”

The Prefontaine Classic is the lone American stop on the international Diamond League series.

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Beatrice Chebet of Kenya, celebrates after setting a world record in the 10,000 with a time of 28:54.14, during the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

Beatrice Chebet of Kenya, sets a world record in the 10,000 with a time of 28:54.14, during the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

Beatrice Chebet of Kenya, set a world record in the 10,000 with a time of 28:54.14, during the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

Beatrice Chebet of Kenya, celebrates her world record in the 10,000 with a time of 28:54.14, during the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. Gudaf Tsegay, left, of Ethiopia came in second and celebrates with Chebet. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

Beatrice Chebet of Kenya, sets a world record in the 10,000 with a time of 28:54.14, during the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved the influential War Cabinet tasked with steering the war in Gaza, Israeli officials said Monday, a move that comes days after a key member of the body bolted the government over frustrations surrounding the Israeli leader's handling of the war.

The move was widely expected following the departure of Benny Gantz, a centrist former military chief, earlier this month. Gantz's absence from the government makes Netanyahu more dependent on his ultranationalist allies to govern and the dissolution of the War Cabinet underlines that shift as the eight-month-long war in Gaza drags on.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the change with the media, said that going forward Netanyahu would hold smaller forums with some of his government members for sensitive issues surrounding the war. That includes his security Cabinet, where far-right governing partners who oppose cease-fire deals and have voiced support for reoccupying Gaza, are members.

The War Cabinet was formed in the early days of the war, when Gantz, then an opposition party leader and Netanyahu rival, joined the coalition in a show of unity following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel. He had demanded that a small decision-making body steer the war, in a bid to sideline far-right members of Netanyahu’s government.

It was made up of three members — Gantz, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant — and together they made important decisions throughout the course of the war.

The move to scrap the War Cabinet comes as Israel faces more pivotal decisions.

Israel and Hamas are weighing the latest proposal for a cease-fire in exchange for the release of hostages taken by Hamas during its attack. Israeli troops are still bogged down in the Gaza Strip, fighting in the southern city of Rafah and against pockets of Hamas resurgence elsewhere. And violence continues unabated between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group — with a Biden administration envoy in the region in a bid to avert a wider war on a second front.

Netanyahu has played a balancing act throughout the war between pressures from Israel's top ally, the U.S., and the growing global opposition to the war and from his government partners, chief among them Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Both have threatened to topple the government should Israel move ahead on a cease-fire deal. The latest proposal being considered is part of the Biden administration's most concentrated push to help wind down the war. For now, progress on a deal appears to remain elusive.

Critics say Netanyahu’s wartime decision-making has been influenced by the ultranationalists in his government and by his desire to remain in power. Netanyahu denies the accusations and says he has the country’s best interests in mind.

Gantz's departure, while not posing a direct threat to Netanyahu's rule, rocked Israeli politics at a sensitive time. The popular former military chief was seen as a statesman who boosted Israel’s credibility with its international partners at a time when Israel finds itself at its most isolated. Gantz is now an opposition party leader in parliament.

Netanyahu's government is Israel's most religious and nationalist ever. In Israel's fractious parliamentary system, Netanyahu relies on a group of small parties to help keep his government afloat and without the support of Gantz's party, Netanyahu is expected to be more beholden to the far-right allies.

FILE - From left, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz speak during a news conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel on Oct. 28, 2023. Israeli officials said Monday, June 17, 2024, that Netanyahu has dissolved the influential War Cabinet that was tasked with steering the war in Gaza. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP, File)