Opposition leader Yair Lapid warns Netanyahu that occupying Gaza would be a disastrous move lacking public support, urging an immediate shift in war strategy.
In a tense 40-minute meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, Opposition Leader MK Yair Lapid delivered a blunt warning: occupying the Gaza Strip would be a catastrophic mistake without overwhelming national backing.
“I told Netanyahu — the occupation of Gaza is a very bad idea,” Lapid said after the meeting. “You can only take such a move if the majority of the nation is behind you. The people of Israel are not interested in this war. We will pay prices that are too great.”
Lapid has been intensifying his criticism of the government’s handling of the war, claiming last week that the military campaign has “spun out of control.” He slammed the IDF’s repeated offensives in Gaza as pointless and cyclical, with no decisive victories.
“We are conquering Khan Yunis for the fourth time, Jabaliya for the third time,” Lapid said. “Each time we leave, Hamas returns, booby-traps roads and houses, and waits for us to come back. The Israeli government no longer knows how to explain why soldiers continue to die in Gaza.”
The opposition leader warned that continuing the war risks Israel’s security, diplomatic standing, and the lives of hostages still in Hamas captivity.
“If we don’t end the war now, the hostages won’t return, the IDF will continue to lose its best fighters, the humanitarian disaster will worsen, and the world will close its doors to Israelis. It doesn’t have to be this way. There is an alternative to what’s happening now.”
Lapid’s remarks reflect growing domestic dissent over the war’s direction and the government’s long-term goals, with pressure mounting for a clear, actionable endgame.
