Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said there is a serious risk that the Gaza conflict will become regional, according to Interfax news agency.
Attempts to blame Iran for the crisis were provocations, he said.
The Kremlin has previously underlined the strength of its relations with both Palestinians and Israel and said it was seeking a role in resolving the conflict and preventing it from spilling over into other countries.
Regional tensions
Protests: Mr Lavrov’s comments come after protests erupted across Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and in other areas of the Middle East yesterday against Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
They were sparked by an explosion at al Ahli hospital in the territory on Tuesday, which Hamas and Israeli officials have accused each other of causing.
Drone attacks: As tensions flared in the region, coalition forces at a US base in Iraq were slightly injured in a spate of drone attacks over the last 24 hours, a US official told the Associated Press.
A direct link to the Israel-Gaza conflict was not drawn.
Hezbollah: The Lebanon-based militant group backed by Iran has already become involved to a limited extent in the conflict with Israel, trading fire across the Lebanese border.
Iran: Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian praised Hamas’s 7 October attacks as a “historic victory” on Saturday.
‘We may be at the brink of a deep and dangerous abyss’
The Middle East’s envoy to the UN has warned of a “very real and extremely dangerous” risk that the conflict could expand.
Tor Wennesland told the Security Council in New York that he fears “we are at the brink of a deep and dangerous abyss that could change the trajectory of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, if not of the Middle East as a whole”.
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