Ehud Olmert, a former Israeli prime minister, has joined a chorus of voices criticizing the regime’s war strategy and calling for a ceasefire.

In comments carried by Israel’s Hayom newspaper, Olmert said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has turned the world against Israel due to the violence unleashed in Gaza.

“The government has lost the support of the world during these months of stagnation,” said Olmert. “At first, everyone supported our response, but with all the destruction in Gaza, support for us eroded.”

Netanyahu has also lost the trust of the Israeli public, he said, who are frustrated by deepening insecurity in the north and the failure to bring back the captives.

“We must end the fighting with an agreement under which all the abductees will be returned and an international force will enter the Gaza Strip and prevent the return of Hamas rule,” said Olmert.