Former Prime Minister Barak argued in an interview with Channel 12 television that Netanyahu could exploit the military tensions with Lebanon and Iran for political gain during the election period.
Barak suggested that if Netanyahu realizes he cannot win the general elections scheduled for October 2026, he could deploy various scenarios, and continued:
"Netanyahu could order an attack a few days before the elections. It is likely that if he realizes he is going to lose a few days before the elections, he could order strikes on targets in the town of Nabatieh (in southern Lebanon).
"Hezbollah would respond with drone attacks on Israel. The Israeli army would then target the Dahieh district south of Beirut. Thus, the clashes would go beyond Hezbollah and turn into a war with Iran."
Barak also suggested that Netanyahu may attempt to disrupt the election process, saying: "The moment Netanyahu realizes he will lose, he will not hesitate to take extremely dangerous steps to undermine the elections. We could witness provocative raid attempts on vote counting centers on election day."
Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Liberman also issued similar warnings on May 14, pointing to the possibility that Netanyahu might take a military step "for electoral purposes."
Haaretz newspaper's military analyst Amos Harel stated in his assessment published on April 24 that the Netanyahu government aims to launch a new offensive on Gaza in line with electoral calculations, and that some within the government are waiting for Hamas to "make a big mistake" by firing rockets at Israel.
