Israel Forms Emergency Government, Defense Minister Gallant: We Will Remove What Is Call Hamas From Earth's Face

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. (Wikimedia Commons/men's

JAKARTA - Israel's defense minister said it would destroy Palestinian militant group Hamas from the face of the earth after they launched an attack last week, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's move to form an emergency government.

In a joint statement, Prime Minister Netanyahu and central opposition leader Benny Gantz said they agreed to form an emergency government consisting of two leaders and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Speaking on television, PM Netanyahu said they were putting aside differences, because the fate of the country was at stake.

"We are fighting cruel enemies, worse than ISIS," Prime Minister Netanyahu said with Gantz and Gallant.

During fighting with Hamas in Gaza, the emergency government will not take any unrelated policies or laws, Prime Minister Netanyahu and Gantz said in a joint statement.

The Hamas armed group stormed Israel from the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing at least 1,200 people, the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in Israeli history.

Israel retaliated with massive bombings in Gaza that had killed 1,055 people, followed by the deployment of thousands of troops around the region, increasing the assessment of a land invasion of Gaza.

"We will remove what is called Hamas, ISIS-Gaza, from the face of the earth. They will no longer exist," said Defense Minister Gallant.

Separately, opposition leader Yair Lapid is expected not to join the emergency government at this stage.