After the deadly Hamas attack on Israel on Saturday and the response, some regional leaders advised caution, while others criticized Israel and some cheered the unexpected strike.
In the worst escalation with the Palestinians since May 2021, Israeli air strikes on the blockaded coastal enclave were in response to the early morning Hamas offensive by air, land, and sea.
“We are at war,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, promising that “the enemy will pay an unprecedented price”.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned “against the danger of the situation deteriorating and sliding into more violence”.
In a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, he urged international cooperation on stopping the conflict from getting worse.
Jordan Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warned of the “volatility” of the situation, “particularly in light of what cities and areas of the West Bank are witnessing of Israeli attacks and violations against the Palestinian people”.
The Hamas assault follows months of surging violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with fatalities in the occupied West Bank reaching a scale unseen in years.
The United Arab Emirates called for “an immediate ceasefire” and “exercising the utmost restraint,” state news agency WAM reported.
“The UAE has expressed its sincere condolences to all the victims of the recent crisis,” a foreign ministry statement said, stressing the importance of protecting civilians.
“The Kingdom of Morocco expresses its deep concern at the deterioration of the situation and the outbreak of military action in the Gaza Strip, and condemns attacks against civilians wherever they may be,” a foreign ministry statement said.
Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit urged “an immediate halt to military operations in Gaza” and “the cycle of armed confrontation between the two sides”.
He said: “Israel’s continued implementation of violent and extremist policies is a time bomb depriving the region of any serious opportunity for stability in the foreseeable future.”
The Saudi Arabia Kingdom calls for an immediate halt to the escalation between the two sides, protection of civilians, and self-control,” a foreign ministry statement said.
Riyadh echoed statements by other regional leaders including Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar Oman, and the Jeddah-based Organisation for Islamic Cooperation that the attack was “a result of the continued occupation and deprivation of the Palestinian people of their legitimate rights”.
Syrian foreign ministry called the Hamas operation an “honourable achievement that proves the only way for Palestinians to obtain their legitimate rights is resistance in all its forms”.
Damascus also expressed its “support” for the Palestinian people and the forces “fighting against Zionist terrorism”.
A senior adviser to supreme Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed support for the attack, calling it a “proud operation”.
“We support this operation,” Yahya Rahim Safavi said, quoted by ISNA news agency.
Safavi backed the Palestinian militants “until the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem”.
Iran-backed Huthi rebels who control the yemen capital Sanaa said they supported “the heroic jihadist operation”.
In a statement published on the website of the Huthi-controlled SABA news agency, the militant group said the attack “revealed the weakness, fragility and impotence” of Israel.
