“The hostages will die, soldiers will die, the economy will fall apart” – Lapid slams Netanyahu in fiery address
Story by Susan Mbamah
The political tension in Israel reached a new high on Sunday as Opposition Leader Yair Lapid launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to a post by Anadolu agency on Monday, August 11, 2025, Lapid accused the Prime Minister of leading the nation toward disaster, calling his approach to the Gaza conflict a dangerous mix of political self-interest and strategic failure.
“It was a horror show by a failed prime minister who replaced reality with a presentation,” Lapid told reporters. “The hostages will die, soldiers will die, the economy will fall apart and our international standing will collapse.”
Lapid’s sharp criticism came after Netanyahu held two rare, back-to-back press conferences. Days earlier, the Prime Minister’s cabinet had approved a new large-scale offensive in Gaza City aimed at eliminating Hamas fighters.
READ ALSO: IDF Chief warns Netanyahu over Gaza plan, creating a “trap”
While Netanyahu rejected accusations of intending to occupy Gaza, he insisted the goal was to end the war swiftly. He spoke of a future “civilian administration” to govern Palestinians in the Strip but provided no specific details on who would be in charge or how such a plan would avoid escalating tensions.
Families of hostages and some members of the security establishment have expressed serious concerns that the new Gaza City offensive could endanger the captives. Lapid leveraged these fears, arguing that a negotiated deal, rather than further military action, offered the best chance of bringing the hostages home safely.
Netanyahu also addressed the highly contentious issue of ultra-Orthodox enlistment in the Israel Defense Forces. He denied claims that he was deliberately stalling to appease Haredi parties, instead blaming former Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein for legislative delays. “There will be legislation, there will be a law, and there will be enlistment,” Netanyahu insisted.
However, his words did little to calm his critics. Shas and United Torah Judaism, two powerful ultra-Orthodox factions, have already withdrawn from key coalition roles over proposed enlistment bills.
READ ALSO: Soldiers rescue 10 hostages in Kaduna
This political shake-up resulted in Edelstein’s removal, with MK Boaz Bismuth replacing him, who is expected to draft a compromise more favorable to the Haredi leadership.
Lapid portrayed Netanyahu’s actions as evidence of misplaced priorities. “The one who just fired the chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to pass an evasion law cannot tell our fighters they must go and be killed in Gaza,” he stated, calling the Prime Minister’s defense policies “a danger to the State of Israel and its security.”
Other opposition figures also weighed in. The Democrats party chairman Yair Golan mocked Netanyahu’s pledge to “defeat Hamas” after nearly two years of fighting, calling it “the most severe security failure in Israel’s history.” Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman accused Netanyahu of “lying with brazen audacity” while sacrificing hostages and soldiers to maintain his coalition.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett condemned recent remarks from Shas leader Aryeh Deri urging yeshiva students not to enlist, calling them “like a knife in the heart.”
Netanyahu, for his part, dismissed the attacks, asserting that his strategy was designed to protect the country’s long-term future.
Yet, in the current charged political climate, Lapid’s dire warning, that the lives of hostages and soldiers, along with the nation’s stability, are at stake, has only intensified the division over the war’s direction and the leadership guiding it.
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