Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak sharply criticized the government of Benjamin Netanyahu over its conduct of the war in Lebanon, arguing that Israel cannot eliminate Hezbollah through military action alone. Speaking to Israeli radio station 103FM, Barak said the government was misleading the public about the war’s results and casualty figures. “The government is deceiving the public, and Netanyahu is counting the bodies.” Barak rejected official claims regarding the number of Hezbollah fighters killed, saying “not 800 terrorists were killed, nor 400. This is all nonsense”. He also dismissed statements that Hezbollah had been set back by decades as an “illusion”. Barak argued that Israelis are being misled by suggestions that Israel could eliminate Hezbollah if political constraints were [...]
