“Intelligence and operational information” reveal that “the government has failed in the war in Gaza,” opposition leader MK Yair Lapid said at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Monday evening.
Without elaborating on what intelligence he was referring to, he said that the situation in Gaza was a “strategic failure, which has led to operational and diplomatic failure.”
According to Lapid, “The Israeli government no longer knows how to justify why soldiers continue to die in Gaza.”
“If we do not end the war now, the hostages will not return, the IDF will continue to lose its best fighters, the humanitarian disaster will intensify, and the world will shut its doors to Israelis.
“This is not inevitable. There is another way,” the opposition leader said. He mentioned a plan that included a comprehensive hostage deal, in which “Israel should exit Gaza, with the IDF positioned around the perimeter and operating from there to dismantle Hamas. Gaza would be administered by a coalition of moderate Arab nations led by Egypt.”
However, the government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has not worked towards that goal and “refuses to discuss how the war should end,” Lapid said.
“The military campaign is out of control. We are conquering Khan Yunis for the fourth time, Jabaliya for the third. Each time we pull out, Hamas returns, lays traps along the routes and homes, and waits for our return,” he said.
“The strategy for freeing the hostages has failed,” the opposition leader said. “Military pressure hasn’t brought them back. Blocking food and medicine from Gaza won’t bring them back. Endless negotiation over partial deals won’t bring them back. What will bring them home is ending the war.”
Lapid: 'Humanitarian aid management in Gaza has collapsed'
Lapid added that “humanitarian aid management in Gaza has collapsed. It simply doesn’t work. Israel must ensure there is no hunger in Gaza. This is not only because it aligns with Jewish values – it’s also because there’s no reason to assist Hamas’s propaganda campaign.
“All this is happening because the government hasn’t defined what the endgame in Gaza is. [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich and [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben-Gvir want military rule and eternal war, and for our tax money to fund Gaza’s residents. That’s not a plan – it’s a disaster,” Lapid said.
“This war must end. In exchange for a complete ceasefire, there will be a comprehensive hostage deal – for all of them, down to the very last. Israel will gain twice over: we’ll bring our hostages home, and we’ll end a war that’s no longer going anywhere,” the opposition leader concluded.
In response to reporters’ questions, Lapid said that there were “pockets” of starvation in Gaza, and added that while Hamas has commandeered some of the aid and contributed to the humanitarian crisis, Israel had ultimate responsibility for the Strip and its inhabitants.
The press conference came hours after US President Donald Trump contradicted a claim by Netanyahu that the charges of famine in Gaza were false, and said that Israel “has a lot of responsibility” for limiting aid.
The press conference also came hours after an official confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that Netanyahu’s decision to enable “localized humanitarian ceasefires” had led to a serious crisis between him and Smotrich.