Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Wednesday criticized Benjamin Netanyahu's government's failure to recover prisoners from the Gaza Strip, saying it "will not win the war."

"A government that cannot define its strategy for the day after Gaza will not achieve victory," Lapid said in a post on the X platform.

He added, "We must defeat Hamas in the next government. Now bring the hostages instead of blaming others all day for your failures."

Tel Aviv estimates that there are 59 Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip, while more than 9,900 Palestinians are languishing in its prisons, suffering torture, starvation, and medical neglect, many of whom have died, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.

Lapid was referring to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's attack on IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir during a meeting of the Israeli Security Cabinet on Tuesday evening.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Wednesday that Smotrich attacked Zamir during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, following the latter's statement opposing Israeli soldiers distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza.

Smotrich was quoted as telling Zamir: "We define the army's tasks, and if you are unable to carry them out, we will bring in someone who can."

The newspaper added: "According to sources familiar with the details of the meeting, the confrontation with the Chief of Staff, led by Smotrich and Justice Minister Yariv Levin, began after Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that there was no need to provide aid to Gaza."

Katz stated during the meeting that "Gaza has sufficient supplies, and that he would oppose any future aid that Hamas might use to control the population and build a terrorist infrastructure," according to his own words.

The newspaper added: "Zamir said that soldiers would not provide aid and that the army would not starve the Gaza Strip, which raised questions among ministers about whether his policies differed from those of his predecessor, Herzi Halevi."

Smotrich later said in a statement that he did not mean Zamir, but rather the Israeli Prime Minister.

On Tuesday, Jens Laerke, spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that the Gaza Strip is experiencing the "worst humanitarian situation" since the beginning of the war due to Israel's prevention of the entry of humanitarian aid.

Since March 2, Israel has closed the Gaza Strip's crossings to the entry of food, relief, medical aid, and goods, causing a significant deterioration in the humanitarian situation for Palestinians, according to government, human rights, and international reports.

"Now the government ministers are also attacking the new 'offensive chief of staff' they chose, creating conflicts within the security cabinet," Lapid said.

"It's time to acknowledge the facts: this government is incapable of winning the war," he added.

"They had a year and a half, they had full support from the Americans, full support from the opposition, and then they ran out of excuses," Lapid continued.

He added, "It's not (former US President Joe) Biden, nor (former Israeli Chief of Staff Halevy), nor (former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav) Galant, it's them," referring to the reason for their failure in the war on Gaza.

The Israeli government has been criticizing Biden, Halevi, and Galant for its failures in the war of extermination in Gaza.

With full American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 168,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing.

In early March, the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel concluded. The agreement, which went into effect on January 19, 2025, was brokered by Egypt and Qatar and supported by the United States.

While Hamas has adhered to the terms of the first phase, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, has reneged on the start of the second phase in deference to extremists in his ruling coalition, according to Hebrew media.