Opposition leaders criticize Netanyahu for corruption, failure in war against Iran

‘Netanyahu once again is taking pride in the accomplishments of the army, so that we forget his total failure,’ says opposition leader

Opposition leaders criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claims Saturday about Israel’s success in the war with Iran, asserting that "he failed to achieve the war aims he himself set out."

"When you are victorious and win, you don’t need to declare every few days that you were victorious and won," Democrats party leader Yair Golan wrote on US social media company X. "Netanyahu is under pressure, because he knows the goals of the war (against Iran) were not achieved.”

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid made similar comments, stating that "Netanyahu once again is taking pride in the accomplishments of the army, so that we forget his total failure," the Times of Israel reported.

"He did not achieve any of the war aims that he himself defined," added Lapid.

He said that "the entire people of Israel salutes our security services and is waiting for the moment when we will have leadership that is able to win wars and not steal money from Israeli citizens while they are in bomb shelters."

The Israeli prime minister threatened further escalation Saturday in Lebanon, saying Israel would only agree to negotiations if Hezbollah is disarmed and a lasting peace agreement is reached.

In a recorded speech, Netanyahu claimed that Lebanon recently sought to open direct negotiation channels "as a result of the strength we showed."

Warning of continued military action, Netanyahu said the war "is not over yet," claiming Israel had achieved "enormous achievements."

Late Friday, the Lebanese presidency said Lebanon and Israel agreed to hold their first meeting in Washington on Tuesday, a move condemned by Hezbollah.

Israel’s large-scale offensive against Lebanon since March 2 has killed 2,020 people and injured 6,436.