TEL AVIV — Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called on Wednesday evening for the departure of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without waiting for the end of the military operation against Hamas.

“Netanyahu should leave immediately... We need change, Netanyahu cannot remain prime minister,” said Lapid in an interview with Israeli channel N12.

“Netanyahu cannot remain Israel's prime minister. We need a national recovery government ... he needs to go now. We cannot allow ourselves to have a Prime Minister who has lost the public’s trust, whether from a social or a security point of view,” Lapid said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12.

The former prime minister said the Israeli leader has “lost the public’s trust.”

This is the first time Lapid has urged Netanyahu to quit since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7.

“The people who are running things right are the defense establishments. This government is dysfunctional," he said. "We need to change the government.”

Lapid accused Netanyahu's government of an "unforgivable failure" for not preventing Hamas' deadly attack on southern Israel.

The opposition leader did not call for early elections but a motion of confidence in parliament, paving the way for a new government led by another member of Netanyahu's party Likud.

“This is not the time to hold elections... We should opt for national reconstruction with another Prime Minister from Likud,” he said.

In a press release, Netanyahu's party described such a proposal in a "time of war" as "shameful". — Agencies