Lapid also took aim at members of Netanyahu’s current coalition.
“Netanyahu knows that with the extreme and dysfunctional composition of the current Cabinet, it is impossible to wage war. The State of Israel needs to be led by a professional, experienced and responsible political echelon,” he said.
“I have no doubt that former Defence Minister Benny Gantz [the head of the National Unity political alliance] will also join such a government,” Lapid said.
At 11:30am, Netanyahu issued an address from the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
“We are at war, not in an operation or in rounds [of violence], but at war. This morning, Hamas launched a murderous surprise attack against the State of Israel and its citizens. We have been in this since the early morning hours,” he said.
Hamas killed more than 100 Israelis in the attack that began early Saturday morning, which included firing rockets and sending dozens of Palestinian terrorists to infiltrate the Jewish state.
More than a thousand Israelis were evacuated to hospitals across the country, almost half to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva and many to Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon.
