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Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu early Wednesday of fearmongering after Netanyahu alleged that enemies could attack Israel before the Oct. 27 parliamentary elections.
Lapid made the remarks after receiving a security briefing from Netanyahu following the prime minister’s warning during a visit to Tel Nof Airbase in central Israel.
Netanyahu said Tuesday there were “indications” that Israel’s enemies could try to attack the country ahead of the election.
“Do not test us. Our long arm will reach you anywhere and at any time,” Netanyahu said, without identifying a potential attacker or providing details about the warning.
Lapid requested an urgent security briefing after the remarks. Netanyahu initially declined, then agreed to meet him.
After the briefing, Lapid said security threats should be handled “professionally and responsibly,” adding that Israel’s security and military bases “are not scenery for election campaign videos.”
“Before Oct. 7, Netanyahu did not address any warning, and 28 days before the elections he suddenly became preoccupied with fearmongering,” Lapid said, referring to the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas.
He said the Israeli army, Shin Bet security agency and police were prepared for the election and argued there was “no justification for creating panic among the public.”
Lapid called for a meeting involving Netanyahu, Shin Bet chief David Zini and Central Elections Committee chairperson Noam Sohlberg to coordinate security preparations ahead of the vote.
Netanyahu’s office confirmed the briefing, saying warnings about possible attacks on several fronts ahead of the election were presented in detail, without elaborating.
“During the intelligence update, alerts of possible attacks on the various fronts ahead of the elections were presented in detail,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
Israel is scheduled to hold general elections on Oct. 27.
Netanyahu, whose polls show he is in a close race to hold on to power, has issued warnings in recent weeks to Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, vowing retaliation in case of an attack.
Israel has kept striking Gaza and Lebanon, while Netanyahu has also stepped up his tone against the leaders of Türkiye, Syria and Qatar.
Lapid, a centrist former prime minister, is one of several opposition figures in the election, with former military chief Gadi Eisenkot emerging as Netanyahu’s most formidable rival.
Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump launched a war on Iran in late February, prompting Tehran to respond with weeks of missile and drone attacks against Israel.
Iran and Israel have not struck each other since April, even as a ceasefire that Tehran reached with Washington has deteriorated elsewhere in the region.
Separately, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a video statement threatening Hamas leaders based outside Gaza after the military said it had killed a commander in the north of the enclave overnight.
“Hamas leaders abroad are also in the crosshairs. None of these despicable murderers, who played a central role in the Oct.7 massacre, should die peacefully in their beds,” Katz said.
“Once, they were spared because of a mishap—but the next time will come, and they too will be sent to the depths of hell,” he added, in an apparent reference to an Israeli airstrike against a gathering of senior Hamas leaders in Qatar in September 2025.
The strike in Doha killed a Qatari security officer and five Hamas members, but none of the group’s top officials.
It also angered the Trump administration, which has close ties with Qatar and moved to secure a Gaza cease-fire announcement that has reduced but not ended Israeli strikes.
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