It was the sixth day of the war sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Israel and, at a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pledged that the Biden administration stood with Israel in the wake of the attack, in which 1,200 were killed in a string of Israeli border communities. That evening, an emergency government was formed: five members of Benny Gantz’s National Unity Party were appointed cabinet ministers without portfolio, and a war cabinet was established.
