Israeli opposition leader Lapid calls for 'emergency government' amid fighting with Hamas

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Saturday called for an emergency unity government, as fighting with the Palestinian Hamas group continued.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was "at war" after Hamas launched Operation Al Aqsa Flood, saying its surprise attack was in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence. It said it fired rockets and captured many Israelis.

"I met with Prime Minister Netanyahu. I told him that in this emergency situation, I’m willing to put aside our differences and form an emergency, narrow, professional government with him to manage the difficult and complex operation ahead of us,” he told reporters.

"The state of Israel is at war. It won’t be easy and it won’t be short. It has strategic consequences which we haven’t seen for many years," he added.

Earlier, Netanyahu said his army's priority is to "clear out the hostile forces," “exact an immense price from the enemy,” and “reinforce other fronts so that nobody should mistakenly join this war.”