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Israel on Wednesday formed an emergency unity government as the country pounded Gaza to root out Hamas and deploying forces north of the densely populated Palestinian enclave, where the militants said they were still fighting after their cross-border attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to form a war cabinet with former defence minister and centrist opposition party leader Benny Gantz and focus entirely on the conflict, a joint statement from Gantz's National Unity party said, reports Reuters and BBC.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden condemned the surprise weekend attack on populated areas of southern Israel by hundreds of Hamas gunmen as "sheer evil", and he issued a warning seemingly aimed at its Iranian supporters.
Israel's death toll rose to 1,200 with over 2,700 wounded, its military said, from the militants' hours-long rampage after breaching the border fence enclosing Gaza on Saturday.
The group's armed wing, the Al Qassam Brigades, said it was still fighting inside Israel on Wednesday. Israel deployed tanks and armoured vehicles just north of Gaza where the clashes were reported, but had no immediate comment on the Hamas claim.
Israel has vowed swift punishment for the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in its 75-year history.
The military said dozens of its fighter jets struck more than 200 targets in a neighbourhood of Gaza City overnight that it said had been used by Hamas to launch its attacks.
Israel has put Gaza under "total siege" to stop food and fuel reaching the enclave of 2.3 million people, many poor and dependent on aid. Hamas media said on Wednesday electricity went out after the only power station stopped working.
With Palestinian rescue workers overwhelmed, others in the crowded coastal strip joined the search for bodies in rubble.
The Israeli military said its troops had killed at least 1,000 Palestinian gunmen who infiltrated from Gaza and the Chief of the General Staff met commanders to discuss their next steps.
Meanwhile, Gaza's only power station has run out of fuel, after Israel announced it was cutting off energy supplies as well as food and water.
It means Gazans will be relying on generators for electricity - if they have fuel to power them.
UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was visiting the town of Ofakim in southern Israel when sirens went off warning of an imminent Hamas rocket fire.
Britain, along with other European countries, has expressed support for Israel and condemned attacks by Hamas.
A British Airways flight from London to Tel Aviv has been diverted back to Britain, after it almost reached Tel Aviv.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
