The latest deadly flare-up in Gaza has drawn reactions from the international community, along with a chorus of calls for a de-escalation.
Russia: Russia, whose ties with Israel have been tested by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, appeared to pin initial blame on the Jewish state.
“We are observing with profound worry how events are evolving,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, adding that Moscow was calling “on all the parties involved to show maximum restraint”.
 European Union: The EU called for maximum restraint, as Israel warned yesterday that its air strikes could last a week and as cross-border fire reverberated for a second day, in the worst escalation since the last Gaza war in 2021. “The European Union follows with great concern the latest developments in and around Gaza,” a spokesman for the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. 
“The EU calls for maximum restraint on all sides... While Israel has the right to protect its civilian population, everything must be done to prevent a broader conflict,” he said.
United Nations: UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland said he was “deeply concerned”, warning that the escalation was “very dangerous”.
Egypt: Egypt, historically a broker between Israel and groups in Gaza, has reportedly been seeking to mediate. “Contacts are maintained around the clock with everyone, so that things do not get out of control,” President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in a speech.
Iran: Iran said the territory was “not alone” in its fight. “We are with you on this path until the end, and let Palestine and the Palestinians know that they are not alone,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guards chief Major General Hossein Salami told Islamic Jihad leader Ziad al-Nakhala during a meeting in Tehran.
Saudi Arabia: The Saudi foreign ministry condemned “the attacks which the Israeli occupation forces have carried out on the Gaza Strip”, adding that it “stands beside the brotherly Palestinian people” and calling on the international community to help stop the escalation.
Arab League: The Arab League “condemned in the strongest possible terms the ferocious Israeli aggression against Gaza”.
Gulf bloc: The secretary-general of the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council, Nayef al-Hajraf, “condemned the brutal military aggression of the Israeli occupation forces on the Gaza Strip” and “stressed the need for the international community to act urgently” to protect civilians.
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