Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined with a top political rival on Wednesday to create a war-time Cabinet overseeing the fight to avenge a stunning weekend attack by Hamas militants.

In the sealed-off Gaza Strip ruled by Hamas, Palestinian suffering mounted as Israeli bombardment demolished neighborhoods and the only power plant ran out of fuel.

Medical teams and rescuers struggled to enter other areas where roads were too destroyed, including Gaza City’s al-Karama district, where a “large number” were killed or wounded, according to the Hamas-run Interior Ministry.

The risk of the war spreading was evident Wednesday after the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired anti-tank missiles at an Israeli military position and claimed to have killed and wounded troops.

Hamas said it launched its attack Saturday because Palestinians’ suffering had become intolerable under unending Israeli military occupation and increasing settlements in the West Bank and a 16-year-long blockade in Gaza.

Associated Press writers Amy Teibel and Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem, Jack Jeffrey and Samy Magdy in Cairo and Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

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