Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held the first emergency government cabinet meeting today, attended by ministers Benny Gantz, Gadi Eizenkot, Hili Tropper, Yifat Shasha-Biton, and Gideon Sa'ar.
At the beginning of the meeting, Netanyahu asked the members of the government to stand for a moment of silence "in memory of our brothers and sisters who were murdered in cold blood, and our heroic fighters who fell in battle."
He then said, "This is the first meeting of the national emergency government. Five more ministers have joined us – Benny, Gadi, Hili, Gideon, and Yifat. We are working around the clock, as a united team, on the same front. The unity within us conveys a clear message to the people, the enemy, and the world."
"I have seen our wonderful fighters who are now on the front lines, they know that the entire people stand behind them. They understand the magnitude of the mission. They are ready to act at any moment to defeat the bloodthirsty monsters that have risen to destroy us."
"Hamas thought we would fall apart - we will break apart Hamas," said Netanyahu.
At the beginning of the meeting, the ministers received a security briefing on the situation from Major General Oded Basyuk, Head of the IDF's Operations Branch.