On Wednesday the United Nations Middle East peace envoy warned the Security Council the risk of expansion of the conflict is “very real.”
The Mideast envoy warned that conflict between Israel, Hamas Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip and possibly other actors is “extremely dangerous.”
Tor Wennesland warned that the Middle East risks falling into a “dangerous abyss” as tens of thousands have protested over the hospital attack which left at least 500 Palestinians dead.
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He added, “I fear that we are at the brink of a deep and dangerous abyss that could change the trajectory of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, if not of the Middle East as a whole.”
The Israeli military are preparing for a ground offensive in Gaza which will “very bloody” for both sides and risks widening the conflict with other state and non-state actors.
Hamas are still holding many Israeli and foreign hostages in Gaza and the EU’s industry chief Thierry Breton has warned that the Palestinian militant group could live stream executions on social media.
Breton said during a speech at the European Parliament, “As part of our interactions with the platforms, we have specifically asked them to prepare for the risk of live-streaming executions by Hamas, an imminent risk from which we must protect our citizens and we are seeking assurances that the platforms are well prepared for such possibilities.”
On Wednesday the Iranian backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah called for a “day of rage” which saw protests erupt across the Middle East.
AFP correspondents said that after the call hundreds of demonstrators gather at the US Embassy in Awkar, Beirut and chanted “death to America” and “death to Israel.”
Tear gas was fired by Lebanese security forces as they also threw stones at the embassy and hundreds also gathered at the French Embassy in the capital raising Palestinian flags.
In the southern cities of Sidon and Tyre in Lebanon at Palestinian refugee camps anger flared up to condemn the hospital attack to which Hamas claims killed more than 500 people.
The leader of Hamas Ismail Haniyeh called on all Palestinian people to “get out and confront the occupation and the settlers.”
Haniyeh has directly blamed the US who hold “the responsibility of the hospital attack because of the cover it gives to Israeli aggression.”
The Hamas leader said it was a “massacre” and warned that this is a “new turning point” in the conflict in the Middle East.
Haniyeh added, “Anyone who supports Israel is responsible for the violations in Gaza.
“If the enemy thinks that these massacres will hide his great defeat or force our people to surrender, he is mistaken.”
There has also been protests across the Arab world in the aftermath of the hospital attack with demonstrators taking to the street in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.
Footage has shown protests in Yemen’s southwestern city of Taz, Iraq’s capital Baghdad and in Rabat, Morocco’s capital.
