Palestinian Ambassador to Vienna Salah Abdul Shafi said that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict could spread to other countries in the Middle East. Asked if he believed that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was at risk of spreading to other Middle Eastern countries, the ambassador told Sputnik: "Yes, this possibility is not ruled out. ”
He cited the reasons why the conflict could expand. "We know that the situation on the Lebanese border between Israel and Allah is very tense and so far the escalation of the conflict has not gone beyond that, but on the other hand, there is no guarantee that it will not escalate further and will not lead to an expansion of the conflict," the diplomat explained. We have seen that vessel traffic in the Red Sea has almost come to a halt as a result of attacks by the Houthis in Yemen on ships bound for Israel. This suggests that the conflict has the potential to become a flashpoint in the region. In this regard, my answer is in the affirmative, and if a ceasefire is not achieved in Gaza as soon as possible, that possibility cannot be ruled out. ”
On the morning of October 7, more than 3,000 rockets were fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip, and Hamas militants entered the southern border area after the rocket attack, attacked passers-by and took hostages. The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which effectively controls the Gaza Strip, announced the launch of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) immediately announced an "Iron Sword" operation against Hamas, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Israel at war. Israeli Defense Minister Gallant said on the 9th that he had ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip and cut off food, electricity and natural gas**;Israeli Energy Minister Katz later announced that the water supply to the Gaza Strip had also been cut off. According to official data, since the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, more than 1,300 people have been killed in Israel, 1More than 90,000 people were killed and tens of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis were injured. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov previously said that the bloody clashes between Palestine and Israel should be stopped immediately, and he called on both sides to cease fire and stop fighting. Lavrov also said that the way out of the Palestinian issue lies in the implementation of the "two-state solution" based on UN Security Council resolutions.