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Iran's forewarning to Israel: ‘If you invade Gaza…it’s expansion of conflict'
Israel-Hamas War: Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened the country's expanded emergency cabinet for the first time.
Iran warned that "no one can guarantee" control of the situation if Israel invades Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive by Israeli forces.
"If the attacks of the Zionist regime (Israel) against the defenceless citizens and people of Gaza continue, no one can guarantee the control of the situation and the non-expansion of the conflicts," Iran's foreign ministry quoted foreign minster Hossein Amir-Abdollahian as saying. The comments were made during the minister's meeting with Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.
This comes as Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened the country's expanded emergency cabinet for the first time saying the national unity on display sent a message at home and abroad as the country gears up to "demolish Hamas" in Gaza. Benjamin Netanyahu said that all ministers were "working around the clock, with a united front".
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"Hamas thought we would be demolished. It is we who will demolish Hamas," Israel PM said, adding that the show of unity "sends a clear message to the nation, the enemy and the world".
The meeting, which was held in military headquarters in Tel Aviv, began with ministers standing for a moment's silence in memory of the 1,300 Israelis killed in Hamas' shock onslaught.
The Gaza health ministry says 2,329 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting erupted, making this the deadliest of the five Gaza wars for Palestinians. The death toll surpassed that of the third war between Israel and Hamas, in the summer of 2014, when 2,251 Palestinians, including 1,462 civilians, were killed, according to UN.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the United States is focused on ensuring American citizens can find safe passage out of Gaza into Egypt and making sure that the broader civilian population leaving Gaza has access to food, water, medicine and shelter.
