Ground invasion would be 'red line', Iran tells Israel
World
1,100 Palestinian Christians in Gaza are sheltering in churches
(Web Desk) - Iran told Israel on Saturday that it did not want to become involved in the Gaza war, but said that if Israel's operations continued and particularly if there was a ground invasion, it would have to act.
Two sources with knowledge of the situation told Axios that Iran had relayed the message through the UN.
According to the sources, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with UN Envoy to the Middle East Tor Wennesland on Saturday in Beirut, where the latter urged Amir-Abdollahian to help prevent a spillover of the conflict in Gaza and Israel to the wider region.
The minister said that he had no desire for a regional war and wanted to try to help with the release of hostages in Gaza.
But he also said there were a number of red lines for Iran, including a ground operation by Israel in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the 1,100 Palestinian Christians in Gaza are sheltering in churches in the besieged strip, as Israel forces residents to flee their homes, according to Al Jazeera's Rania Zabaneh.
"They [Israel] have the skies, but we pray to the one above the skies," Zabaneh reports one of those seeking shelter as saying.
