Yaïr Lapid, the leader of the Israeli opposition, on Monday accused the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of having lost its deterrence. His comments came two days after Iran, which supports both the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah, launched more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel.
Israel, the United States and other allies intercepted almost all of the projectiles fired in Iran's first ever direct military action against its archenemy. The war cabinet was to meet again on Monday to decide on the means and timetable for the response while the head of the Israel government has still not spoken publicly after the attack. “It is futile to ask the ministers of this government to act responsibly, but they must stop talking about and threatening Iran in the media,” said Lapid on the social network X. The opposition leader mocked “a circus” and called for calm in the face of the Iranian threat. The United States has warned Israel against an escalation and American President Joe Biden has informed Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington will not participate in a response.