Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday defended the formation of an “emergency government of national unity” on the third day of the offensive launched by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas that has left at least 800 dead in Israel.
“I call on opposition leaders to immediately form an emergency government of national unity, without preconditions”Netanyahu said in a televised address.
Netanyahu, who leads a coalition of right-wing, far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties, is facing one of the biggest crises in the country’s history.
In his intervention, the head of the Israeli government laid out the five points of his plan: regaining control of the territory and “eliminating the terrorists” still present in Israel; carrying out a “massive” attack on Hamas with “unprecedented force”; “strengthen the fronts” in the north and against Hezbollah and in the West Bank; continue the campaign to gain support from the international community; and finally “the unity of the people” with the formation of a government of national unity.
Netanyahu emphasized that the scale of Saturday’s massacre by Hamas against Israelis “has not been seen since the Islamic State” and that Israel will eliminate this movement “in the same way that the civilized world eliminated the jihadist group.”
“Children murdered, executed with their families, young people, boys and girls shot in the back. We always knew what Hamas was, now everyone knows it, and we are going to eliminate it in exactly the same way the civilized world eliminated the state. Islamic”Netanyahu said in his speech.
“Citizens of Israel, we are on the third day of the campaign. We are engaged in a war for our homes, a war to ensure our existence, a war in which we will win”the Israeli head of government added.
The offensive against Hamas in Gaza “has just begun,” he warned.
“The images of the destruction and destruction of Hamas strongholds in Gaza are just the beginning. We have eliminated hundreds of terrorists and we will not stop there. I said that all places from which Hamas operates will become ruins. It is already happening today and will happen even more in the future.”he threatened.
The president also added that the offensive against the Islamist group “will take time.”
“At the end of the campaign, all our enemies will know that attacking Israel was a terrible mistake. What will be done to our enemies in the coming days will be remembered by them for generations.”he condemned.
Netanyahu’s statements came shortly after authorities increased the number of Israelis killed by Hamas to 900, and the number of wounded to 2,600.
In the Gaza Strip, authorities reported this Monday that 687 people have already been killed and 3,726 injured by Israeli bombardments over the past three days.
Hamas, considered terrorists by the European Union and the United States, launched a surprise attack on Israeli territory on Saturday, dubbed Operation ‘Al-Aqsa Storm’, with the launch of thousands of rockets and the incursion of armed militiamen into Israeli territory. ground, sea and air.
In response to the surprise attack, Israel bombed several Hamas facilities in the Gaza Strip by air, in an operation it dubbed “Iron Swords”.
Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Saturday that Israel is “at war” with Hamas and began a counter-attack with air, sea and land forces on the Gaza Strip, and the persecution of members of the Islamic movement on Israeli soil.
Source: DN
