Israeli opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a national unity government in the wake of a surprise attack by the resistance group Hamas, in response to Israel's attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Lapid offered Prime Minister Netanyahu to form an emergency government.

"I won't concern myself with the question of who is to blame and why we were surprised," Lapid, a former centrist prime minister, said. "We will face our enemy in unity."

Lapid added: "The state of Israel is at war. It will not be an easy or short war." He also spoke of the danger of a war on several fronts.

He offered Netanyahu to form a joint professional coalition "that can fight the hard, complex and long war that lies ahead of us."

Netanyahu knows that he "cannot wage war with the dysfunctional and extremist composition of the government," Lapid asserted, adding that Israel needs responsible leadership.

Netanyahu, leader of the conservative Likud party, has been at the head of a right-wing, religious coalition government since the end of the year, in which far-right extremist ministers, like Ben Gvir, are also represented. It is the most right-wing government in Israel's history.

Around 100 Israelis have been killed and hundreds injured in Saturday's surprise large-scale attack by Gaza's ruling Hamas. At least 198 Palestinians were killed, and 1,600 others were injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza, which targeted residential buildings.