A retired Israeli general slammed the country’s ongoing military assault on Gaza, warning that Israel’s actions — which have killed and displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians — could make it a “pariah state” in the eyes of the world.
“A sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies as a pastime, and does not engage in mass population displacement,” said Yair Golan, a former deputy chief of staff for the Israeli army and the head of the country’s left-wing opposition party, in an interview with radio station Reshet Bet.
Israeli airstrikes, and the resulting civilian casualties, have surged in the last week as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed the goal of taking “full control” of the Gaza Strip.
The latest attacks only add to the staggering toll of the conflict, which has killed 53,000 Palestinians and injured 121,000 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. This past week, the United Nations estimated that an additional 14,000 babies could die in just two days due to a dearth of nutrition and medical aid.
Golan, the leader of the country’s Democratic Party, has been an outspoken critic of Netanyahu’s leadership and has urged the Israeli government to seek a long-term ceasefire. He emphasized that Israel could become ostracized globally, much like South Africa was during apartheid.
Golan’s comments swiftly drew the ire of Netanyahu, who condemned them as “wild incitement” and “despicable antisemitic blood libels against IDF soldiers and the State of Israel” via a post on X. IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir also accused Golan of impugning the character of the IDF and questioning Israeli soldiers’ morality.
Golan, meanwhile, stressed that his remarks were aimed at Israeli government officials and not soldiers, stating that “IDF fighters are heroes; government ministers are corrupt.”
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has deepened in recent months amid Israel’s 11-week blockade on food, water and medical supplies, which it lifted only this past week. A scarcity of resources — in addition to the destruction of multiple hospitals in the territory — has prompted concerns about famine as well as the spread of infectious disease.
Global pressure on Israel has also grown amid these developments, with the U.K., France and Canada issuing a joint statement this week urging Israel to suspend its military onslaught and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, or face “concrete actions.”
