Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened Israel’s expanded emergency cabinet
Iran warns ‘no one can guarantee’ control of situation if Israel invades Gaza
TEL AVIV + QATAR
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened Israel’s expanded emergency cabinet for the first time on Sunday, saying the national unity on display sent a message at home and abroad as the country gears up to “demolish Hamas” in Gaza.
The meeting, held in military headquarters in Tel Aviv, began with ministers standing for a moment’s silence in memory of the 1,300 Israelis killed in Hamas’ shock October 7 onslaught, a video released by Netanyahu’s office showed.
Welcoming former opposition lawmaker Benny Gantz, who joined the government along with several members of his party last week, Netanyahu said all ministers were “working around the clock, with a united front.”
“Hamas thought we would be demolished. It is we who will demolish Hamas,” Netanyahu said, adding that the show of unity “sends a clear message to the nation, the enemy and the world.”
Iran warns ‘no one can guarantee’ control of situation if Israel invades Gaza
“If the attacks of the Zionist regime (Israel) against the defenseless citizens and people of Gaza continue, no one can guarantee the control of the situation and the non-expansion of the conflicts,” Iran’s foreign ministry quoted Foreign Minster Hossein Amir-Abdollahian as saying during his meeting with Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.
On Saturday, Amir-Abdollahian met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar, where they discussed the Palestinian militant group’s deadly attack in Israel “and agreed to continue cooperation” to achieve the group’s goals, Hamas said in a statement.
During their meeting in the Qatari capital Doha, Amir-Abdollahian praised the rampage as a “historic victory” that had dealt a setback to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.
Israeli forces were Sunday readying for a looming Gaza ground invasion aimed at destroying Hamas, which unleashed the bloodiest attack in Israel’s history.
In the eight days since Hamas gunmen killed more than 1,300 Israelis in their surprise onslaught, Israel has responded with a devastating bombing campaign that has claimed over 2,300 lives in Gaza.