Iran warns of ‘pre-emptive action’ as Israel readies Gaza ground offensive
- Iran’s warning came as Israel’s military prepared for a ground attack of the Gaza Strip to destroy Hamas
- Hamas releases hostage video showing captive seized in last week’s devastating attack on Israel
Iran on Monday warned of a possible “pre-emptive action” against Israel “in the coming hours”, as Israel readies for a ground offensive on the Gaza Strip.
Tehran has repeatedly warned that a ground invasion of the long-blockaded Gaza would be met with a response from other fronts – prompting fears of a wider conflict that could draw in other countries.
“The possibility of pre-emptive action by the resistance axis is expected in the coming hours,” Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a live broadcast to state TV, as he referred to his meeting with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday.
Earlier Monday, Iran’s top diplomat and president, Ebrahim Raisi had said time was running out to reach a political solution and warned against the expansion of the Israel-Hamas war to other fronts.
Amir-Abdollahian said Monday that “the resistance leaders” will not allow Israel “to do whatever it wants in Gaza”.
“If we don’t defend Gaza today, tomorrow we have to defend against these (phosphorus) bombs in the children’s hospital of our own country,” he added.
Biden will visit Israel as concerns mount that war could spread
Israel declared war on the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas a day after waves of its fighters broke through Gaza’s heavily militarised border with Israel on October 7 and killed over 1,400 people, most of them civilians.
Israel has responded by pummelling the Gaza Strip with non-stop air and artillery strikes that have flattened neighbourhoods and killed at least 2,750 people in Gaza, mostly civilians.
Iran celebrated the Hamas assault but insisted it was not involved.
The Monday remarks come as Israel prepares for a ground invasion into the Gaza Strip, where fears for Palestinians trapped in the heavily-bombarded enclave have grown since Israel launched its aerial campaign.
Israel has urged Gazans to evacuate south, which hundreds of thousands have already done in the enclave, home to about 2.3 million people. Hamas has told people to ignore Israel’s message.
The military says it is trying to clear away civilians ahead of a major campaign against Hamas in the north, where it says the militants have extensive networks of tunnels and rocket launchers.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement has released its first video of a suspected hostage in the Gaza Strip.
In a video distributed on Monday, a young woman is seen having a wound on her arm dressed, then speaking directly into the camera.
In the footage, the woman, whose injured arm is shown being treated by an unidentified medical worker, identifies herself as 21-year-old Mia Schem and asks to be returned to her family as quickly as possible.
A representative of the family, which was among a group of French families that appealed last week to President Emmanuel Macron to help free their missing relatives, confirmed her identity to Reuters.
At least 199 Israelis and foreigners were seized by Hamas gunmen and taken captive in the attack.
The Israeli military issued a statement, saying it was in constant touch with Schem’s family and condemning Hamas as a “murderous terrorist organisation”. It said it was using “all intelligence and operational measures” for the return of the captives.
“In the video, Hamas is trying to portray itself as a humane organisation, while it is a responsible for the murder and abduction of babies, women, children, and elderly,” it said.
Earlier, Hamas’ armed wing said non-Israelis kidnapped on October 7, were “guests” who would be released “when circumstances allow”.
Agence France-Presse and Reuters
