Countries in the region warned Israel on Saturday against further ground operations in the coastal enclave. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it “condemns and denounces any ground operations carried out by Israel due to the threat they pose to the lives of Palestinian civilians”.
Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said in a post on social media platform X that an “Israeli ground escalation will have dire results for civilians, and devastating humanitarian and economic dimensions.”
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and visiting Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani stressed in Jordan’s capital Amman the importance of joint Arab action to halt the ongoing Israel-Hamas escalation.
Also in the day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the West of failing to stop the Israeli offensive and slammed Israel’s attacks on Gaza at a pro-Palestinian rally. He said that “it’s the West that is most responsible” for the killings in Gaza.
The Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned in a statement that Israeli behavior “devoid of any controls or accountability” may ignite the Middle East, fuel hatred in the world, and threaten regional and international peace.
The Israel-Hamas conflict has entered its 22nd day, and the death toll of Palestinians from Israeli military strikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to 7,703, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, about 1,400 Israelis were killed, the majority of them in the Hamas offensive that occurred three weeks ago, while about 230 civilians, the majority of them civilians, are being held captive by Hamas.
