#Israeli PM #BenjaminNetanyahu & #BennyGantz, leader of the opposition #NationalUnity party, reached an agreement Wed to form a unity govt. The 2 ldrs said the new govt would pursue only bills or decisions concerning the #conflict, which has prompted Israel to mass troops near the Gaza Strip & call up #reservists ahead of an offensive against #Hamas militants.
#Hamas said Wednesday that #Israeli strikes targeted the leader of its military wing, killing his brother, as #Israel pledged to focus its fire on Hamas leaders. A plane carrying #US#ammunition has landed in Israel ahead of a visit by Secretary of State Antony #Blinken. In Gaza, #Palestinian authorities said #hospital supplies are dwindling & that the only #power plant has run out of #fuel & stopped operating.
The #Hamas attack has killed ≥1,200 people in #Israel & wounded >2,700, authorities said. #Palestinian ofcls said #Israeli strikes have killed 1,055 people & injured >5,100 in #Gaza.
US ofcls said ≥14 #Americans have been killed, & ≥20 others are unaccounted for, including some held #hostage by Hamas. Israeli authorities have said >100 people were taken #captive. Hamas has threatened to execute #civilian#hostages in response to Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
Benny #Gantz, the 64-year-old leader of #Israel’s opposition #NationalUnity party who reached an agreement Wednesday to form a #Unity Government w/ PM Benjamin #Netanyahu, has previously been described as “the un-Netanyahu.”
His low-key, steady demeanor makes people “see him as a person of integrity & country first,” said David Makovsky, a distinguished fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
In 2019 & 2020, #Gantz & #Netanyahu faced off in 3 elections, & briefly shared power in a #coalition govT. The collapse of that coalition triggered a 4th election in 2021.
Gantz rose to the top of 2 #Israeli institutions known for shooting & shouting — the #military & #politics — w/a reputation for calm & moderation. His ascent was rapid. He was the head of the army by age 52, & less than a year after launching his political career became a top prospect for PM.
#Gantz was born in southern #Israel to #Holocaust survivors, & entered the armed forces in 1977 at 18, steadily climbing the ranks in a military career that spanned 38 years & has been peppered w/milestones. In 1989, as commander of an elite unit of the #IAF, he oversaw an operation that airlifted 14,500 Ethiopian Jews vulnerable to persecution to Israel. A decade later, he served as commander of Israeli forces occupying southern #Lebanon, & then oversaw the country’s withdrawal from the region.
#Gantz became the military’s chief of staff in 2011. While in the job, the #IDF fought 2 wars in #Gaza in 2012 & 2014, for which the govt & Gantz have faced international criticism. A #UnitedNations report published in 2015 found that both #Israel & #Palestinian militant groups probably committed #WarCrimes in the 2014 conflict, which left 2,251 #Palestinians dead, 65% of whom were #civilians.
The contract signed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin #Netanyahu & opposition legislator Benny #Gantz to form an #emergency#wartime#government includes a crucial line that will delay — & could spell an end to — controversial #JudicialReforms advanced by Netanyahu earlier this year.
The number of confirmed deaths of #Americans in the #Israel-#Hamas conflict has risen to “at least 22,” the State Dept said & President #Biden confirmed during remarks on efforts to combat #antisemitism at a White House roundtable w/ #Jewish community leaders.
The The State Dept believes that 17 Americans are unaccounted for in Israel.
The #WorldHealthOrganization#WHO said Tues evening that it had documented 22 attacks by Israeli forces on #MedicalCenters & ambulances that killed 6 people. It wasn’t clear whether any of the #UN workers were included in that figure. On Wednesday, the #Palestine#RedCrescentSociety#PRCS, part of the International Federation of #RedCross & RedCrescent Societies, said its #ambulances have been targeted by Israeli strikes. 1 strike killed 3 #medics, it said, & another strike killed another medic.
The #UnitedNations’ humanitarian agency painted a bleak picture of conditions in the #Gaza Strip as #Israel lays #siege to the narrow enclave.
In an update Wed, the agency said >263k #Palestinians have been displaced across Gaza & >1k homes have been destroyed, w/an additional 560 so damaged that are uninhabitable. ~12,630 other homes were also damaged.
All of #Gaza’s 13 #hospitals are “only partly operational” because of supply shortages & fuel rationing, the agency said.
>650k people are w/o drinking #water, the agency said, after #Israel cut off water supplies to Gaza.
7 water & #sanitation facilities were damaged by #IsraeliAirstrikes, the agency said, adding that “#sewage & solid waste” are building up in the streets in some areas, creating a #HealthHazard.
A unity government doesnt mean anything when a fascist is still a component. Israel voted in a non democratic government well before this war it will take more than that to restore their legitimacy as a democracy
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