Israel formed an emergency unity government on Wednesday as it attacked Gaza to destroy Hamas and deployed forces in the north of the densely populated Palestinian enclave, where Hamas members said they remained are fighting after a cross-border attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to form a war cabinet with former defense minister and moderate opposition party leader Benny Gantz and focus exclusively on the conflict, according to a joint statement by the National Unity Party. Gantz.
US President Joe Biden condemned last weekend’s surprise attack on populated areas in southern Israel by hundreds of Hamas gunmen as “pure crime” and issued a clear warning aimed at his Iranian supporters.

The military put the death toll in Israel at 1,200 and more than 2,700 injured, following an hours-long rampage by members of Hamas after breaching the border fence around Gaza on Saturday.

The group’s armed wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, said Wednesday it was still fighting in Israel. Israel deployed tanks and armored vehicles just north of Gaza, where the clashes occurred, but did not immediately comment on Hamas’s statement.

According to Palestinian officials, retaliatory attacks on the blockaded area left 1,055 people dead and 5,184 injured. The United Nations said nine staff members working for the Palestinian refugee agency were among those killed.

Israel vowed swift punishment for the deadliest attack in its 75-year history, which left bodies scattered around a music festival and a kibbutz community.

The military said dozens of its warplanes overnight attacked more than 200 targets in the Gaza City neighborhood that it said were used by Hamas to carry out attacks. “We start the attack from the air, then we will also attack from the ground,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told soldiers near the fence on Tuesday.

Israel has placed Gaza under a “total siege” to prevent food and fuel from reaching the region’s 2.3 million people, many of whom are poor and dependent on aid. Hamas media said on Wednesday that electricity had been cut off after the sole power plant was shut down.

As Palestinian rescuers were overwhelmed, others joined in searching for bodies in the rubble of the busy coastal strip.

“I was sleeping here when the house collapsed on me,” a man shouted as he and others used flashlights to search the stairs of a building hit by a rocket to find trapped people.

The Israeli military said its troops killed at least 1,000 Palestinian fighters who infiltrated from Gaza and that the Chief of General Staff met with commanders to discuss next steps.

“Wherever there are Hamas leaders, the IDF will strike with precision and force,” he said.

Dozens of Israelis and other foreigners were taken to Gaza as hostages, some of whom were paraded in the streets. Both sides said many women and children were among the dead and injured, and relatives held many funerals. Israel said it was switching schools to distance learning starting Sunday and distributing more guns to licensed citizens, predicting possible clashes between majority Jews and Arabs. minority, amid calls for many pro-Gaza protests.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the interim governor of Nablus, Ghassan Daghlas, said Palestinians had been shot and injured by Israeli settlers. Reuters could not immediately verify this information and there was no immediate comment from Israel. An Israeli hospital in Ashkelon, northern Gaza, said it had been hit by rockets but no casualties were reported.

In another sign of the worsening crisis, Israeli bombings hit towns in southern Lebanon following a rocket attack by the powerful armed group Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran. support. It was the fourth straight day of violence in the country, following a bombing from Syria on Tuesday that Israel said it was investigating.

A ground attack carries risks for Israel, especially for hostages held in the narrow, largely urbanized Gaza Strip, tightly ruled by Hamas. He threatened to execute a captured person without warning for each hit on a house.

Palestinian sources said one of the houses hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last night killed three relatives of Hamas militant leader Mohammed Deif, the secret mastermind of the attack that had been planned for two years. year.

Israel withdrew settlers and troops from Gaza in 2005 after 38 years of occupation. Israel’s blockade since Hamas took power in the enclave in 2007 has created conditions that Palestinians find intolerable.

Washington said it was discussing safe passage for Gaza civilians with Israel and Egypt amid food supply shortages.

Hussein Al-Sheikh, head of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, said the international community must intervene urgently to avoid “a major humanitarian disaster”.

“I was sleeping here when the house collapsed on me,” one man shouted as he and others used flashlights to search for people trapped in the stairs of the building hit by the rocket.

The Israeli military said its troops killed at least 1,000 Palestinian militants who infiltrated from Gaza and that the chief of staff met with commanders to discuss next steps.

“Wherever there are Hamas leaders, the IDF will strike with precision and force,” he said.

Dozens of Israelis and other foreigners were held hostage in Gaza, some of them paraded in the streets. Both sides said that among the dead and injured were many women and children, whose relatives had held many funerals. Israel announced it would switch schools to distance learning starting Sunday and distribute more weapons to citizens with permits, predicting possible clashes between Jews and civilians. Arabs are the majority. minority, amid calls for protests in support of Gaza.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, acting governor of Nablus Ghassan Daghlas said Palestinians had been shot and injured by Israeli settlers. Reuters could not immediately verify this information and there was no immediate comment from Israel. An Israeli hospital in Ashkelon, northern Gaza, said it had been hit by rockets but there were no reports of casualties. In another sign of the worsening crisis, Israeli bombings hit towns in southern Lebanon following a rocket attack by the powerful armed group Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran. . donate. It was the fourth consecutive day of violence in the country, following a bombing from Syria on Tuesday that Israel said it was investigating.

A ground attack carries risks for Israel, especially for hostages held in the narrow, largely urbanized Gaza Strip, tightly ruled by Hamas. He threatened to execute a captured person without warning for each hit on a house. Palestinian sources said one of the houses hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza last night killed three relatives of Hamas militant leader Mohammed Deif, the secret mastermind of the planned two-month attack. year. year.

Israel withdrew settlers and troops from Gaza in 2005 after 38 years of occupation. The blockade imposed by Israel since Hamas took power in the enclave in 2007 has created conditions that Palestinians find intolerable.

Washington said it was discussing safe passage for Gaza civilians with Israel and Egypt amid food shortages. Hussein Al-Sheikh, head of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, said the international community must intervene urgently to avoid “a major humanitarian disaster”.