Israel Could Form Emergency Government: Defense Stocks, Israel ETFs In Focus During Conflict

As Israel ramps up its armed forces and a regional war with Hamas enters its fourth day, the country is considering forming an emergency government.

Israel's ruling coalition is seeking to form the emergency government with the opposition, Bloomberg reported Monday. 

“All the heads of the coalition, without exception, supported the establishment of a national emergency government and authorized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to act for its establishment,” the premier’s party Likud said in a statement.

The Latest From The Israel-Hamas Conflict: A move to set up the emergency government call has drawn support from some opposition leaders.

The potential creation of an emergency government comes after Israel hit the Gaza Strip overnight and has said it will respond “very severely and aggressively” to the attacks by Hamas on Saturday. The response could include a ground attack, although one has not been announced at this time.

More than 1,000 Israelis have died in the conflict with Hamas, Bloomberg said. More than 500 Palestinians have died, according to a Monday Al-Jazeera report. 

U.S. President Joe Biden said at least 11 Americans have been killed, with more likely being held hostage.  

Related Link: Cathie Wood's Ark Israel Innovative Tech ETF Braces For Impact Amid Regional Warfare 

Stocks, ETFs To Watch: Here’s a look at the stocks and ETFs that investors are closely monitoring. The conflict between Israel and Hamas could impact several major sectors, including oil, gold and defense stocks.

The regional conflict in Israel has made stocks in several sectors volatile to start the trading week.

Similar to the war between Ukraine and Russia, the oil and agriculture sectors could be impacted depending on the actions and length of the conflict.

Defense stocks saw heavy action Monday with the sector trading mostly higher. Stocks to watch in the defense sector include Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT), Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC), RTX Corporation (NYSE: RTX), General Dynamics Corporation (NYSE: GD) and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ: KTOS).

Companies that are headquartered in Israel or that have major operations in the country were mostly down Monday, with ETFs tied to the country also trading lower.

Some of the stocks and ETFs with Israel ties were recovering in Tuesday trading: Jerusalem-headquartered Mobileye Global Inc (NASDAQ: MBLY) was 2.42% higher to $40.24 in Tuesday morning Trading. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (NYSE: TEVA), based in Tel Aviv, was trading 4.59% higher to $9.23. 

ETFs that cover Israel include iShares MSCI Israel ETF (NYSE: EIS), Ark Israel Innovative Technology (BATS: IZRL), VanEck Israel ETF (NYSE: ISRA) and the BlueStar Israel Technology ETF (NYSE: ITEQ); all of the ETFs were trading higher at the time of publication Tuesday. 

Read Next: Goldman Sachs Bullish On Crude Oil With Israel, Hamas At War 

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