Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Benny Gantz have agreed to form an emergency government, seeking to shore up security decision-making as the conflict with Hamas persists.
The Gaza Strip’s single operational power plant has now run out of fuel amid an ongoing “complete siege” by Israel, which is no longer sending its own supplies to the region and its more than two million inhabitants.
The death toll is rising in Israel and the Gaza Strip, as missiles rain down and hostilities rage for a fifth day Wednesday.
Israeli military said it is amassing troops near the Gaza Strip as part of its response following a brutal multipronged attack from Palestinian militant group Hamas over the weekend.
The U.S., whose State Secretary Antony Blinken is due to arrive in Israel on Thursday, is discussing a possible humanitarian corridor from the Gaza Strip with Egypt, amid U.N. concerns over damage against civilians. The Hamas terrorist offensive of Saturday also targeted civilian sites, including a music festival.
Rippling into the financial sphere, the Israeli crisis could affect the oil markets, a top Russian official warned. Crude prices are typically sensitive to political turbulence in the Middle East, where much of the world’s oil production is based.
As a result of the ongoing Israeli-Hamas war, at least 1,200 Israelis have been killed, with more than 2,700 injured, while roughly 950 people in Gaza have been killed, with 5,000 injured.
President Joe Biden said his administration warned Iran to be careful after Hamas’ attacks on Israel.
After listing aid the U.S. is sending to Israel, Biden “made it clear to the Iranians: Be careful.”
The president made the remarks at a roundtable of Jewish leaders at the White House on Wednesday afternoon.
Sources tell NBC News that U.S. intelligence shows Iranian leaders were surprised by Hamas’ attack on Israel, but White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that Iran was “complicit” in the attack because it has backed Hamas for decades.
Biden called the attack by Hamas “pure cruelty.”
“I would argue it’s the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust,” Biden said.
NBC NewsÂ