Israel's left-wing politician and a former military general, Yair Golan, has accused Tel Aviv of murdering Palestinians infants for sport and seeking to expel millions of Palestinians from besieged Gaza.
"A sane country... does not kill babies for a hobby," Golan said in a radio interview on Tuesday, sparking condemnations from Israeli government and opposition leaders.
"Israel is on the path to becoming a pariah state among the nations — like the South Africa of old — if it does not return to behaving like a sane country," said Golan, chairman of Israel's Democrats party.
"A sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies for a hobby, and does not set goals involving the expulsion of populations," he told Israel's Kan public radio.
Netanyahu accused Golan, a former major general in the military, of "wild incitement" against Israeli troops and of "echoing the most despicable anti-Semitic blood libels against the (Israeli army) and the State of Israel."
Golan also drew condemnation from government critics, with opposition leader Yair Lapid saying in a post on X: "Our fighters are heroes and are defending our lives. The statement that they kill children as a hobby is incorrect and is a gift to our enemies".
Military chief Eyal Zamir in a statement condemned remarks that cast doubt on the "morality" of the army's actions and of its troops.
Responding to criticism, Golan said on X that he was trying to sound the alarm on the direction he believed Israel was headed.
The government's war plans are "the realisation of the fantasies of (Itamar) Ben Gvir and (Bezalel) Smotrich", Golan said, referring to two far-right ministers.
"If we allow them to realise them, we will become a pariah state," he said.
During a press conference, Golan said his criticism "was in no way directed at the army".
"My criticism is aimed at the government, not the army, which is my home and in my heart," he told journalists.
"A government that says we can abandon hostages and starve children is a government that speaks like a spokesperson for Hamas," he added.
Golan, a vocal opponent of Netanyahu's government and its policies, has been a controversial figure since a 2016 speech in which he appeared to draw parallels between Israeli society and the rise of fascism in Europe in the 1930s.
In November 2024, he accused Netanyahu of putting his own political interests before the country's following a decision to dismiss defence minister Yoav Gallant.
Golan reaffirmed his stance on Tuesday, saying, "When ministers in this government celebrate the death and starvation of children, we must say so. I was referring solely to the most failed government in Israel’s history — not to the IDF. Our mission is to ensure that Israel remains a sane country that does not kill children either as a hobby or as a policy."
"A government that talks about an atomic bomb in Gaza is not a Jewish government, and it is certainly not Zionist."
14,000 Gaza babies could die in 48 hours
Meanwhile, UN's humanitarian chief on Tuesday warned that 14,000 babies in Gaza could die in the next 48 hours if aid trucks do not reach Palestinian communities in Gaza.
Speaking to the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme, Tom Fletcher said thousands of trucks of aid are "ready to go", adding that the aid contains "baby food and nutrition".
Israel has been blocking aid into Gaza for eleven weeks allowing only nine trucks to enter on Monday, a move the UN aid chief called "a drop in the ocean."
No aid has yet been distributed in the Gaza, the UN said on Tuesday, as experts warn famine now looms in Gaza.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said four trucks of baby food were dropped off on the Palestinian side of the fence on Monday, and that a few dozen trucks of flour, medicine, nutrition supplies and other basic items entered Gaza on Tuesday.
"Israeli authorities are requiring us to offload supplies on the Palestinian side of Kerem Shalom [Karem Abu Salem] crossing and reload them separately once they secure our team's access from inside the Gaza Strip," Dujarric told reporters.
Israel has been carrying out genocide against Gaza since October 2023, reportedly killing nearly 64,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children — including some 11,000 people feared buried under debris of bombed homes — rejecting international demands for a ceasefire, and weaponising food aid.
Experts suggest the actual Palestinian death toll may be closer to 200,000.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
