Israeli opposition leader says Netanyahu gov't unable to protect citizens

By Anadolu staff

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Friday that the Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv is "further evidence" that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government cannot provide security for its citizens.

At least one Israeli was killed and 10 others were injured in a Houthi drone attack early Friday, Israeli media reported.

In a statement, Lapid said the drone attack on Tel Aviv is “further evidence that this (Israeli) government cannot provide security to the citizens of Israel.”

“Those who lose deterrence in the north and south also lose it in the heart of Tel Aviv,” he said.

“There are no policies, no plans, all public relations, and discussions are about themselves. They have to go,” he added.

Netanyahu and his government have been under fire over their deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since a Hamas attack last Oct. 7 despite growing calls for a cease-fire in the Palestinian enclave.

More than 38,800 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 89,400 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi