The deadly Israeli attacks on Palestine have claimed the lives of at least 2,329, with 9,042 wounded, the Gaza Health Ministry said on Sunday.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has urged an emergency meeting of foreign ministers from Islamic countries during his trip to Doha, calling on leaders to address the alarming Israeli attacks on Gaza as Tel Aviv prepares a ground invasion.

The proposal by the top Iranian diplomat for an Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) convention was made during a meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha on Saturday, in which both sides pledged to cooperate to achieve the objectives of the resistance in Palestine, an official statement by Hamas said.

“If the war crimes of the Zionist regime continue in Gaza, any possibility can be envisioned in the region, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue its efforts to stop the war crimes of the Zionists,” the Iranian foreign ministry quoted Amirabdollahian as saying.

The Iranian diplomat said last week’s Operation Al-Aqsa Flood represents a spontaneous reaction by the oppressed Palestinians to the ongoing deadly attacks carried out by the Israeli government.

Amirabdollahian also held a meeting with Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as well as Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha to discuss the ongoing escalations in Palestine on Sunday.

The Iranian FM’s stop in Doha marked the fourth leg of his regional tour, which has already seen him visit Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria.

During the meeting with the Hamas leader, Amirabdollahian described recent developments in Palestine as a “historic victory” that dealt a significant blow to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.

He reiterated Tehran’s unwavering commitment to supporting the Palestinian cause, emphasising that this commitment is rooted in religious, humane, and moral responsibility.

According to information provided by two informed diplomatic sources to Axios, Tehran conveyed a message to Israel through the United Nations on Saturday.

The report states that while Iran does not seek further escalation in the ongoing Israeli war on Palestine, Tehran would be be compelled to intervene if Israel goes ahead with ground invasion plans.

“He pledged that Iran would do everything in its power to halt these actions,” Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency said.

Amirabdollahian, who earlier met with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, said in a media briefing in Beirut on Saturday that Israel must “stop the crimes against civilians in Gaza — because it might be too late in a few hours.”

“I know about the scenarios that Hezbollah has put in place,” Amirabdollahian said. “Any step the resistance will take will cause a huge earthquake” for Israel.

Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister also met with UN envoy to the Middle East, Tor Wennesland, on Saturday in Beirut, as confirmed by the two diplomatic sources. Wennesland called Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and other officials and delivered Tehran’s message, the sources said.

After conveying Iran’s message to Israel, Wennesland’s office also verified discussions he had with Iran’s foreign minister, focusing on “diplomatic efforts to release hostages, de-escalate and prevent a spillover of the conflict to the wider region.”

Separately, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi slammed Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip as war crimes and genocide that violate international treaties, during a phone call with Qatar’s amir, IRNA reported.

Raisi called for an immediate end to Israel’s “crimes against humanity” and proposed the establishment of safe corridors in Gaza to avoid further regional escalation.

In the same phone call, Sheikh Tamim emphasised the necessity for safe corridors in Gaza and to ensure violence does not expand regionally, according to Qatar News Agency.

The amir discussed “the importance of efforts to de-escalate the situation, sparing civilians from the consequences of the fighting, opening safe corridors in Gaza for relief and humanitarian efforts, and ensuring that the violence does not expand regionally,” the report read.

Looming ground invasion

Meanwhile, the Israeli military declared its readiness to “expand the attack” on Gaza, saying it was planning a wide range of offensive operations, including “coordinated attacks from the air, sea and land”.

According to reports, Israeli tanks have started positioning themselves along the Gaza border in what has been described as the “largest pull-up of Israeli reservists in Israel’s history”.

“We also saw Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talking to troops and telling them the next phase was about to begin. Some leaks in Israeli media also say ground invasion is going to begin. It is now only a question of time before that happens,” Al Jazeera journalist Stefanie Dekker reported from the ground.

In eight days, the deadly Israeli attacks on Palestine have claimed the lives of at least 2,329, with 9,042 wounded, Gaza’s health ministry said on Sunday.

Gaza is currently facing a complete siege with Israel preventing access to water, electricity and food to more than two million residents of the blockaded enclave.

Announcing the siege on Monday, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said: “There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly”.

Earlier this week, Israel threatened over one million Gazans residing in the northern region to relocate to the south but was then filmed bombing convoys fleeing as instructed.