Israeli opposition leader says young Israelis backed killing ‘everyone’ in Gaza

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said he met a group of young Israelis who expressed support for killing all Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including babies. Lapid made the remarks in a podcast interview, excerpts of which have circulated on social media platforms in recent days. “I had a painful meeting with a group of very young people, and I heard from them all those statements calling for killing everyone and claiming that there are no innocents,” Lapid said. He said he asked them: “Even babies?” According to Lapid, they replied: “Babies too, because eventually they will grow up and become terrorists.” Since Oct. 8, 2023, Israel, with US support, has carried out a genocide in the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 74,000 Palestinians and injured over 175,000 others, most of them women and children. Since the start of the war on Gaza, Israeli officials and public figures have made statements calling for the use of overwhelming force against Palestinians and minimizing distinctions between civilians and combatants. Criticism for government ministers Lapid also criticized remarks by government ministers, saying Israel “will not recover” from allowing a minister to remain in office after calling for dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza. Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu called in November 2023 for using a nuclear weapon against Gaza. Lapid also criticized statements by Israeli officials concerning starving civilians in Gaza, saying such remarks by ministers who remain in office damage Israel. He also addressed the Israeli government’s policy toward countries that criticize it, arguing that cutting ties or closing embassies does not serve Israel’s interests. “Anti-Israel rhetoric in Ireland and Spain was unacceptable, but questioned the usefulness of closing Israel’s embassy in Dublin or recalling its ambassador from Madrid,” Lapid said. He said he would instead prefer to travel to those countries, appear in their media and engage with critics of Israel rather than boycott them.