America News Agency

Speaking at the Israel Bar Association's annual conference in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, the leader of the center-right National Rally party said Netanyahu had "lost his way" and "sees himself as a state... that's dangerous."

Netanyahu insisted on Monday night that Israel should retain control of the Philadelphia corridor on the Gaza border with Egypt. He warned that this stance jeopardized efforts to reach a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in the war with Hamas.

At a press conference Tuesday evening, Gantz said the corridor was important to prevent Hamas and other Palestinian militants from smuggling weapons into Gaza but that the soldiers would be “easy targets” and would not stop the tunnels.

Gantz also refuted Netanyahu’s claim that international pressure would make it harder to return if Israel withdrew from Philadelphia. Gantz called for new elections, saying, “We can return to Philadelphia when necessary. If Netanyahu doesn’t understand that everything has changed since October 7th… and is not strong enough to withstand international pressure to return to Philadelphia, he should put down the keys and go home.”

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Sunday and Monday to express their anger at the deaths and protest the government’s handling of the war. On Tuesday, demonstrators blocked traffic in central Tel Aviv for a third day.