Iran has issued a stern warning, predicting an inevitable escalation due to the civilian deaths in the thousands and extensive suffering caused by Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian's remarks could heighten worries about the effectiveness of Washington's diplomatic initiatives and the deployment of U.S. naval forces in the Eastern Mediterranean in preventing further destabilization of the Middle East.
"Due to the expansion of the intensity of the war against Gaza's civilian residents, expansion of the scope of the war has become inevitable," Amirabdollahian told his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Thursday night.
Iran's state-run Press TV reported the comments, made during a telephone conversation, on Friday.
Israel's bombardment and siege of Gaza over the past month has created a humanitarian catastrophe as over 10,000 Palestinians have been killed and thousands seeking medical treatment and shelter in the few hospitals still open, as medics operate in grave danger.
"The Israeli occupation launched simultaneous strikes on a number of hospitals during the past hours," Gaza Ministry of Health spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra told Al Jazeera television. Qidra said an Israeli strike hit a courtyard in the Al Shifa hospital, the biggest in Gaza City, causing casualties, but he did not provide further details.
To justify the hospital bombings, Israel claims the Hamas resistance group has hidden command centers and tunnels beneath Al Shifa and other hospitals, such as the Indonesian Hospital, which Hamas denies.
Israel's military did not directly comment on Qidra's statement but it has said it does not target civilians.
Iran supports Hamas but says it did not play any role in the group's Oct. 7 incursion that triggered the crisis.
Iran also backs Hezbollah, a Lebanese group that has deep ties with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian faction in Gaza that is also backed by Iran.
The monthlong Israeli military campaign to wipe out Hamas has left Gaza's hospitals struggling to cope, as medical supplies, clean water and fuel for power generators have been running out.
Gaza's Health Ministry has said 18 of Gaza's 35 hospitals and 40 other health centers were out of service either due to damage from shelling or lack of fuel.
Palestinian media published video footage on Friday of Al Shifa Hospital showing the aftermath of an Israeli attack on a parking lot where displaced Palestinians were sheltered and journalists were observing.
A pool of blood could be seen next to the body of a man being placed on a stretcher.
"With ongoing strikes and fighting nearby (Al Shifa), we are gravely concerned about the well-being of thousands of civilians there, many children among them, seeking medical care and shelter," Human Rights Watch said on social media site X.
Qidra said Al-Rantisi Pediatric Hospital and Al-Nasr Children's Hospital "have been witnessing a series of direct attacks and bombardments" on Friday.
He said strikes on the hospital grounds at Al-Rantisi set vehicles on fire but they had been partly extinguished.
Indonesia's Foreign Ministry said on Friday there were explosions near the Indonesian Hospital overnight, which damaged parts of the hospital, located at the northern end of the besieged coastal enclave.
"Indonesia once again condemns the savage attacks on civilians and civilian objects, especially humanitarian facilities in Gaza," the ministry said in a statement.
