Former Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon has told Israeli Channel 12 that Israel is “paying the price for the hallucinations of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government”, Al Jazeera reports.

He has added that the government should have entered negotiations with Lebanon since October 2024, saying soldiers have continued to be killed due to “private and partisan political interests”.

Ya’alon has said Netanyahu is prolonging the war “to keep his extremist coalition safe”, adding that Israel is approaching elections, and “if the status quo continues after that, we will have no state left”.