Amid the ongoing war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a leading Opposition figure on Wednesday agreed to establish an "emergency government" in an attempt to combat the fight against Hamas militants. In a statement, Gantz's National Unity party stated that the emergency warr-time Cabinet will consist of Netanyahu, Benny Gantz - a senior opposition figure and former defence minister - and current Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
According to the statement, the Cabinet will focus only on issues of the war. It appeared that the rest of Netanyahu’s existing government partners, a collection of far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties, would remain in place to handle other issues.
Significance of the emergency government
The unusual arrangement manages to provide some degree of unity after years of bitterly divisive politics, as the military appears increasingly likely to launch a ground offensive into Gaza. The government is under intense public pressure to topple Hamas, after its militants stormed through the border fence Saturday and gunned down hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival.
Israel’s chief opposition leader, Yair Lapid, was invited to join to new Cabinet but did not immediately respond to the offer, reported the Associated Press. The war has already claimed around 2,500 lives on both sides, and a ground offensive in Gaza is likely to dramatically hike casualties. Already, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza smashed entire city blocks to rubble in the tiny coastal enclave and left unknown numbers of bodies beneath mounds of debris.
Israel stops essential supply to Gaza
Militants in Gaza are holding an estimated 150 people snatched from Israel — soldiers, men, women, children and older adults. They continued to fire rockets at Israel on Wednesday, including a heavy barrage at the southern town of Ashkelon. Israel stopped entry of food, water, fuel and medicine into Gaza - a 40-kilometer-long (25-mile) strip of land wedged among Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea that is home to 2.3 million Palestinians. The sole remaining access from Egypt was shut down Tuesday after airstrikes hit near the border crossing.
It should be mentioned here that Israel has mobilized 360,000 reservists and appears increasingly likely to launch a ground offensive into Gaza, with its government under intense public pressure to topple Hamas, which has ruled the territory since 2007 and remained firmly in control through four previous wars.
(With AP inputs)
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