Netanyahu forms emergency government with opposition before tightening offensive on Gaza
Under the still immense and widespread shock in his country over the attacks carried out by Hamas and the clamor from broad sectors in favor of the unity of its leadership in one of the most traumatic moments in Israel's history, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the centrist leader Benny Gantz, have agreed to form an emergency government to confront the war with the jihadist group.
The pact of the two leaders, who joined in a coalition against the coronavirus crisis in 2020 and then divorced acrimoniously, involves the creation of the so-called “war management cabinet” that will be formed by the two together with the current one. Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant.
The incorporation of the former Minister of Defense and head of the Israeli Army who leads a party in which another former head of the Tsáhal, Gadi Eizenkot, is also a member, aims to send “a message of firmness in difficult times for our people,” according to official sources.. What there is no doubt is that the new Government has much more experience in military issues.
The Government formed at the end of 2022 with the Likud, two ultra-Orthodox parties and two other ultra-nationalists will be joined by five ministers from Gantz's faction, which in fact is the union of his centrist list (with some center-left politicians) and the conservative party of the former Likud Minister Gideon Saar.
Israel continues bombing the Gaza Strip while Hamas attacks spread panic among the Israeli population
However, it is worth remembering that the second most voted party in Israel led by the former prime minister and head of the opposition, the centrist Yair Lapid, remains on the sidelines. In the joint statement, Netanyahu and Gantz agreed to reserve a position for him in the new command room.
The emergency cabinet in the war against Hamas will be made up of Netanyahu, Gallant and Gantz while Eizencot and Minister Ron Dermer (Bibi's trusted man) will act as observers in the restricted forum. In this way, the far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir loses relevance in security matters and especially in this crisis – already minimal in itself.
In his speech with Gallamt and Gantz, Netanyahu denounced that Israel fights with a “cruel enemy” and added: “Hamas is Daesh. “We will crush and eliminate him like the world crushed and eliminated Daesh.”
The formation of the new cabinet does not mean that Israel will relax the enormous pressure, based on bombs and civil restrictions, on Hamas and Gaza. With Gantz and Eizenkot, who like many in the center left demand a tough offensive against the perpetrators of Saturday's massacres that they compare to Daesh, the cabinet will feel more legitimized externally and internally to toughen the offensive and make difficult decisions as a ground operation in the Gaza Strip.
In this way, the war started by Hamas has definitively buried the controversial judicial reform proposal launched in January by the Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, which unleashed an unprecedented division in Israel with more than 40 consecutive weeks of protests and damage palpable in the economy, internal cohesion (with effects on the reservist corps) and the deterrence capacity. As expected, Netanyahu and Gantz agreed not to promote bills or decisions unrelated to the management of the war.
“Large scale” bombing
Meanwhile, on the fifth day of the war sparked by Hamas' surprise attack on Saturday, exchanges of fire continue, with rockets launched from Gaza hitting the city of Ashkelon and even Tel Aviv.. and with continued Israeli aerial bombardment against the Gaza Strip, “on a large scale,” as reported by the Israeli armed forces and confirmed by witnesses in Gaza.
A rocket hit the Barzilai hospital in Ashkelon, located 10 kilometers north of the Gaza border, causing only material damage.. The fighter jets bombed this Wednesday the Islamic University of Gaza which, according to Israel, was a place to train experts in military espionage and to develop and produce weapons, in addition to hosting conferences aimed at raising financing for the Islamist organization, says a statement from the Army, reports Efe.
In the Gaza Strip, official figures report 1,055 dead, more than 5,000 injured, and three schools and more than 500 residential buildings destroyed.
The Strip is under constant bombardment by Israeli fighters and completely isolated from the world, without electricity or fuel.. The possibility of leaving is only a hypothesis, since Egypt's Foreign Minister, Sameh Shukri, avoided answering this Wednesday the question of whether his country will open the Rafah crossing, which connects the Gaza Strip with the Sinai Peninsula. to allow the Palestinians to flee from the blockade.
“There is a complete blockade imposed and all Israeli crossings are closed to Gazans. Egypt kept the Rafah crossing open to provide humanitarian aid, food and medical supplies,” Shukri said, adding that “conflicts encourage irregular migration and flight to safer areas.” “And, of course, Europe is a center of attraction.”