On Monday, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak attacked current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and demanded early elections.

Barak said in a statement to Israeli Army Radio that Netanyahu is moving to serve his own political interests, and is working to prolong the war in the hope of retaining his position.

He added that Netanyahu refuses to do the right thing and join hands with the American president to reach an agreement to end the war, due to personal considerations related to political survival.

The former Prime Minister stressed that "elections must be held as soon as possible, even during war."

For months, Netanyahu has been rejecting calls to hold early elections, claiming that they would "paralyze the state, and may lead to the cessation of prisoner exchange negotiations for about 8 months."

Barak warned that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir want to set the entire Middle East on fire.

According to Israeli media, Smotrich and Ben Gvir are pressuring Netanyahu not to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.