Israel Opposition Leaders Slam Netanyahu Over Ceasefire with Iran

 People enter an underground parking garage as sirens warn of an incoming missile fired from Yemen in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP)
People enter an underground parking garage as sirens warn of an incoming missile fired from Yemen in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP)
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Israel Opposition Leaders Slam Netanyahu Over Ceasefire with Iran

 People enter an underground parking garage as sirens warn of an incoming missile fired from Yemen in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP)
People enter an underground parking garage as sirens warn of an incoming missile fired from Yemen in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 4, 2026. (AP)

Israel's opposition leaders swiftly criticized the ceasefire with Iran on Wednesday, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to achieve the war's objectives. 

The United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire in an 11th-hour bid to avert all-out destruction of Iran threatened by US President Donald Trump. 

Netanyahu's office said Israel supported Trump's decision to suspend the bombing of Iran, but maintained the ceasefire "does not include Lebanon" where Israeli forces are fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah. 

"There has never been a political disaster like this in our entire history. Israel was not even close to the table when decisions were made concerning the core of our national security," the country's main opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on X. 

"The army carried out everything that was asked of it, and the public showed remarkable resilience, but Netanyahu failed politically, failed strategically, and did not achieve any of the goals he himself set." 

Netanyahu had set the elimination or at least severe degradation of Iran's nuclear program as a central goal of the war, describing it as an "existential threat" to Israel. 

He also called for the neutralizing of Iran's ballistic missile capabilities, the weakening or potentially toppling of the Iranian regime and the curbing of Tehran's regional influence by targeting its network of allied groups. 

"It will take us years to repair the political and strategic damage that Netanyahu caused due to arrogance, negligence, and lack of strategic planning," Lapid said. 

The head of the left-wing Democrats party, Yair Golan, called the ceasefire a "strategic failure" by Netanyahu. 

"He promised a historic victory and security for generations, and in practice, we got one of the most severe strategic failures Israel has ever known," Golan said on X. 

"It's a total failure that endangers Israel's security for years to come." 

Member of parliament and opposition figure Avigdor Liberman also denounced the truce, saying it gave the Iranian regime "an opportunity to regroup". 

"Any agreement with Iran that does not include renouncing the destruction of Israel, uranium enrichment, the production of ballistic missiles, and support for terrorist organizations in the region means that we will have to return to another campaign under more difficult conditions and pay a heavier price," Liberman said on X. 

More reaction was expected to come later on Wednesday after the end of the Jewish holiday of Passover. 

Even as Israel backed Trump's ceasefire plan with Iran, it said the truce did not include Lebanon. 

Israel has been fighting a war with Hezbollah since the Lebanese armed group launched rocket fire at Israel in March after the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of the war. 



Iran Could Open Strait of Hormuz in a Controlled Way ahead of Meeting with US, Senior Iranian Official Says

FILE PHOTO: A map showing the Strait of Hormuz, also known as Madiq Hurmuz, is seen in this illustration taken March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A map showing the Strait of Hormuz, also known as Madiq Hurmuz, is seen in this illustration taken March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Iran Could Open Strait of Hormuz in a Controlled Way ahead of Meeting with US, Senior Iranian Official Says

FILE PHOTO: A map showing the Strait of Hormuz, also known as Madiq Hurmuz, is seen in this illustration taken March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A map showing the Strait of Hormuz, also known as Madiq Hurmuz, is seen in this illustration taken March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Iran could open the Strait of Hormuz in a limited and controlled way on Thursday or Friday ahead of a meeting between US and Iranian officials in Pakistan, a senior Iranian official, involved in the talks, told Reuters on Wednesday.

"If an understanding on a framework for talks is reached, the strait could be opened "limited, under Iran's control," the official said, Reuters reported.

"Coordinating with Iranian military will be mandatory for all ships. Still the ceasefire is fragile, however, we prefer lasting peace but Iran has no fear to return to war if the US wants go the same way."


10 Reportedly Detained in Türkiye Over Shootout Near Israel Mission

A drone view shows police officers and medics standing at the scene, after a gunfire was heard near the building housing the Israeli consulate, according to a witness, in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 7, 2026. REUTERS/Mehmet Emin Caliskan
A drone view shows police officers and medics standing at the scene, after a gunfire was heard near the building housing the Israeli consulate, according to a witness, in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 7, 2026. REUTERS/Mehmet Emin Caliskan
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10 Reportedly Detained in Türkiye Over Shootout Near Israel Mission

A drone view shows police officers and medics standing at the scene, after a gunfire was heard near the building housing the Israeli consulate, according to a witness, in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 7, 2026. REUTERS/Mehmet Emin Caliskan
A drone view shows police officers and medics standing at the scene, after a gunfire was heard near the building housing the Israeli consulate, according to a witness, in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 7, 2026. REUTERS/Mehmet Emin Caliskan

Ten people, including two wounded gunmen, were in detention Wednesday a day after a deadly shootout near the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, the state Anadolu news agency reported.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Turkish media said a gunman who was killed in the shootout was linked to ISIS, Agence France Presse reported.

Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci had said that one of the assailants was linked to an "organization that exploits religion" and that the two wounded gunmen were brothers with links to the drugs trade.

Other arrests have been made since the attempted attack on Tuesday which led to the shootout which witnesses said lasted more than 10 minutes.

"The number of people detained, including the two terrorists who are still hospitalized, has risen to 10," the state news agency said, quoting investigators.

There were no Israeli diplomats at the mission at the time as most have been evacuated since the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas in Israel that set off the Gaza war.


Kyiv Calls for Ukraine Ceasefire After Iran Truce

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy poses for a picture after an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 25, 2026. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy poses for a picture after an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 25, 2026. (Reuters)
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Kyiv Calls for Ukraine Ceasefire After Iran Truce

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy poses for a picture after an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 25, 2026. (Reuters)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy poses for a picture after an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 25, 2026. (Reuters)

Kyiv on Wednesday called on the United States to pressure Russia into ending its invasion of Ukraine, saying Washington's ceasefire agreement with Iran showed the success of US "decisiveness." 

"American decisiveness works. We believe it is time for sufficient decisiveness to force Moscow to cease fire and end its war against Ukraine," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga wrote on social media. 

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy echoed those comments in a later post on social media. 

"Ukraine has always called for a ceasefire in the war waged by Russia here in Europe against our state and our people, and we support the ceasefire in the Middle East and the Gulf that paves the way for diplomatic efforts," he wrote. 

"The situation in this region has global implications -- any threats to security and stability in the Middle East and the Gulf amplify challenges for the economy and the cost of living in every country," he added. 

He reiterated readiness to pause strikes on Russian infrastructure if Moscow halted its long-range drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian power plants and grid. 

"Ukraine tells Russia once again: we are ready to respond in kind if the Russians stop their strikes. It is obvious to everyone that a ceasefire can create the right preconditions for agreements," Zelenskiy wrote. 

The Russian invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022 has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced millions, making it the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.