IRAN has threatened to take “pre-emptive action” against Israel in the “coming hours” sparking fears of an all-out war.
In a chilling warning, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said “all options are open” – and “resistance leaders” won’t allow Israel “to do whatever it wants in Gaza“.
GettyIsraeli military on the move near the border with Lebanon[/caption]
EPAFears of an all-out war in the Middle East are mounting[/caption]
EPAShells from Israeli artillery explode over Dhayra, a village near the Lebanese-Israeli border[/caption]
Israel declared war on Hamas after waves of its fighters stormed over the border on October 7 and killed more than 1,400 people – most of them civilians.
Israel responded by blasting Gaza with non-stop airstrikes that have wiped out entire neighbourhoods and killed nearly 3,000 people – and the military are now preparing for a ground invasion.
Tehran has repeatedly warned that a ground assault on Gaza would be met with a response from other fronts.
Amirabdollahian warned of imminent “pre-emptive action” against Israel “in the coming hours”.
“The possibility of pre-emptive action by the resistance front is expected in the coming hours,” he told state TV.
“Leaders of the resistance will not allow the Zionist regime to take any action in Gaza.
“All options are open and we cannot be indifferent to the war crimes committed against the people of Gaza.”
The foreign minister previously warned “Iran cannot stand idly by and watch this situation unfold”.
The so-called “resistance front” is understood to refer to the alliance between Iran, Palestinian militant groups, Syria, Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah and other factions.
Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border for days as tensions skyrocket in the region and people brave for a spiralling conflict.
Israel has already evacuated civilians living near the Lebanon border amid fears Hezbollah is on the brink of invading.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said a ground invasion of Gaza would “open the gates of hell” – and spark chaos in the Middle East.
And in a call with Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned of the “possibility of expanding the scope of war and conflict to other fronts”.
“If this happens, it will be more difficult to control the situation,” Raisi said, according to state news agency IRNA.
The threat of an escalation in the war came as UN aid chief Martin Griffiths warned that the “spectre of death” is hanging over the entire region.
Iran celebrated the Hamas assault – but insisted it was not involved.
The international community now fears the opening of a second front in the conflict – with Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group joining its Hamas ally in the fight against Israel.
At least 2,750 people have been killed in Gaza, mostly civilians.
As Israel prepares for a ground invasion into Gaza, troops will face a bloodbath battle through a maze of booby-trapped tunnels built by Hamas, intelligence documents revealed.
Military analysts are now convinced the October 7 atrocities were just the first phase of the Hamas masterplan.
Soldiers will be ordered into 300 miles of hellish rat-runs dubbed “The Gaza Metro”.
Hamas has built 40 tunnels under the Gaza border and a fearsome defensive network under Gaza City.
Experts warned the daunting underground mission against heavily armed Hamas terrorists will cost hundreds of Israeli lives.
Israel has paved the way for a ground assault by striking military targets including command centres and rocket launchers.
Fighter jets, artillery and drones continue to hammer Gaza.
Muataz Eid, a senior Hamas commander and the head of national security for the terror group’s southern district, was said to be among five senior officials who have been killed.
The enclave’s health ministry said 2,670 Palestinians were dead and 9,600 wounded.
Food and medical supplies are on the brink of collapse, while corpses litter the streets and officials warn of unprecedented suffering.
Israel has bowed to pressure to allow fuel tankers into Gaza to power hospital generators, hours after restoring water supplies.
But hopes of a lull in the fighting and the creation of a humanitarian corridor to allow foreign refugees to flee south into Egypt were dashed.
Meanwhile, at Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, more rockets were fired by Hamas’ terrorist allies Hezbollah, prompting the Israeli evacuation of civilians from 28 communities.
APIranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
