The latest Israel forms national unity government to fight Hamas Israel deploys 300000 troops near Gaza with Israeli and militant forces continuing t
The latest:
Israel said Wednesday it has formed an emergency war-time unity government to fight Hamas militants, at the same time massing 300,000 troops near Gaza for what could be a ground invasion of the Palestinian enclave.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu created a war cabinet with former defense chief Benny Gantz, a centrist opposition National Unity Party leader, along with current Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, so they could solely focus on combating Hamas after its shock attack on Israel last Saturday.
The unusual arrangement, with other Cabinet members from Netanyahu’s right-wing government apparently remaining in place, pieces together a degree of unity after years of bitterly divisive politics.
Watch video by Linda Gradstein:
Embed share Israel-Hamas Hostilities Escalate on Day Five of Outbreak Embed share The code has been copied to your clipboard. width px height px
No media source currently available
0:00 0:02:26 0:00
Netanyahu has vowed to topple Hamas rule in Gaza, the densely populated strip of territory along the Mediterranean Sea, so that the militants can no longer threaten Israel.
The toll has been staggering in five days of fighting, with Israel saying that 1,200 of its citizens and foreign nationals, including 22 Americans, have been killed inside Israel and another 2,700 wounded. In Washington, the White House said another 17 Americans are unaccounted for.
Palestinian officials say that 1,055 of its people have been killed in retaliatory strikes by Israel and nearly 5,200 wounded. A ground invasion of Gaza would surely increase the death toll on both sides.
The United States is continuing to closely monitor the situation in Israel, U.S. President Joe Biden said.
Biden said he spoke with Netanyahu earlier on Wednesday, the fourth call between the two leaders in recent days.
Militants in Gaza are holding an estimated 150 hostages it grabbed in Israel – soldiers, men, women, children and older adults. Their fate is largely unknown, with their relatives pleading in television interviews for their release.
