The heads of the Arab League and African Union said on Sunday in a joint statement that Israel’s planned ground invasion of Gaza could lead to a genocide of unprecedented proportions.
Both organizations called on “the United Nations and the international community to stop a catastrophe unfolding in front of us, before it is too late,” as Israel readies for a ground invasion following Hamas’s surprise attack last week.
More than one million people have been displaced in the Gaza Strip in the last week the UN said Sunday, after sustained Israeli bombardment and warnings about a ground attack against Hamas commanders.
Israel declared war on the Hamas group last Sunday, a day after waves of fighters broke through the heavily fortified border.
Seven days of relentless bombing targeting those who masterminded the attack have flattened neighborhoods and left at least 2,450 people dead in the Gaza Strip, the majority ordinary Palestinians, the health ministry there said.
As Israel seek to avenge the worst attack in its history, the Arab League and African Union warned the invasion could lead to “genocide.”
It also faced a grave warning about the security implications of putting boots on the ground in the densely populated enclave.
“No one can guarantee the control of the situation and the non-expansion of the conflicts if Zionists send its soldiers into Gaza,” said Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
“Those who are interested in preventing the scope of war and crisis from expanding need to prevent the current barbaric attacks against citizens and civilians in Gaza,” he added.
Iran is Israel’s number one enemy and as well as funding Hamas also backs Hezbollah in Lebanon to the north, where cross-border fire has intensified in the last week.
At least 10 people have now been killed in Lebanon and two in Israeli camp, prompting the government to shut the border area to civilians.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel had “no interest in a war in the north, we don’t want to escalate the situation.” But he added: “If Hezbollah chooses the path of war, it will pay a heavy price… but if it restrains itself, we’ll respect the situation.”
The United States, which has given unequivocal backing to Israel, is concerned about violence spreading and has sent two aircraft carriers to the eastern Mediterranean as a deterrent.
In Washington, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said they feared the prospect of Iran becoming “directly engaged,” after it praised the Hamas attack but insisted it was not involved.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has in recent days toured Middle Eastern capitals in a frantic round of diplomacy to try to avert a wider crisis in the volatile region.
On Sunday, he pointed to “determination in every country I went to make sure that this doesn’t spread,” as he left Egypt to head back to Israel.
Blinken has appealed to China to use its influence in the region to ease tensions. But on Sunday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Israel’s response had “gone beyond the scope of self-defense.”
He called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his emergency government to “cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza.”
