Israeli opposition leader rails against ‘multi-front war without strategy’

Yair Lapid says military ‘is stretched to the limit and beyond’ as Israeli forces wage attacks on Iran and Lebanon.Israel’s main opposition leader Yair Lapid has warned that the war with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon is taking too high a toll and accused the government of steering the country towards a “security disaster”.The military “is stretched to the limit and beyond”, Lapid said late on Thursday in a video address, echoing a warning delivered a day earlier by military chief Eyal Zamir, according to leaked remarks from a security cabinet meeting.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3As a Palestinian, I stand in solidarity with the Iranian people. Here’s whylist 2 of 3Damage in Israel from Iranian attackslist 3 of 3Iranian naval chief killed in attack, Israel saysend of list“The government is sending the army into a multi-front war without a strategy, without the necessary means, and with far too few soldiers,” said Lapid, who is seen as a centrist figure in Israeli politics.He has frequently criticised the government’s handling of war while still supporting Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza, Iran, Lebanon and elsewhere. Last month, he said he agreed with Israeli expansion as far as Iraq, and that his territorial takeover views for Israel are based on Zionist and biblical foundations.Buffer zone in LebanonMilitary spokesman Effie Defrin, in a televised address on Thursday, said “more combat soldiers are needed” to establish a “defensive” buffer zone in Lebanon.Israel said this week its military would take control of south Lebanon up to the Litani River, about 30km (19 miles) from the border. Lebanon said it would complain to the United Nations Security Council over Israeli attacks as a threat to its “sovereignty”.Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Ramallah, said for many military analysts and politicians, especially in the Israeli opposition, the plan to create a buffer zone could be “very costly”.