Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition-party leader Benny Gantz agreed to form a small war cabinet as part of an emergency-unity government Wednesday, five days after Hamas terrorists invaded the country.
The newly created war cabinet will comprise of Netanyahu, defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Gantz, the Times of Israel reported Wednesday. Former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot and strategic-affairs minister Ron Dermer will function as observers in the cabinet, per the agreement. Netanyahu, Gallant, and Dermer belong to the conservative Likud party, while Gantz and Eisenkot subscribe to the National Unity political movement.
Both parties came to an agreement in principle Tuesday and finalized the deal Wednesday.
Both Netanyahu and his main political rival Gantz, who previously served as an army general and defense minister, have been negotiating for days to jointly address Hamas’s violent attack on Israel, which began Saturday. Gantz has been reportedly pressing the prime minister for the formation of a war cabinet that holds “real influence” over the nation’s management of the conflict, according to Israeli media.
Gantz, Eisenkot, and former justice minister Gideon Sa’ar will be three of five National Unity party members to join the broader security cabinet in the Israeli government. It remains undetermined who the two other members will be at this time. One of the positions remains open for opposition leader Yair Lapid, but he has previously said he wouldn’t join the unity government if two far-right political parties continue to have seats at the table.
Notably, no legislation pertaining to non-war issues will be advanced or enacted as long as the conflict lasts.
As of Wednesday, Israeli deaths total 1,200 people, most of whom are civilians, and more than 2,700 are wounded. Earlier this week, the Israeli military launched airstrikes against the Palestinian-occupied Gaza Strip and has regained control of towns near the border, killing some 1,500 Hamas terrorists. Palestinian authorities said at least 1,055 civilians died in the crossfire, with at least 5,000 more injured.
At least 22 Americans were killed since Hamas invaded Israel over the weekend, the U.S. State Department announced Wednesday.