Gaza crisis: Russia warns of declaring ‘War’ against Israel

President of Russia Vladimir Putin has warned of declaring war against Israel as tensions with Palestine built up to a severe crisis in Gaza.

According to the media report, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the current escalation between Israel and Palestine poses a direct threat to Russia’s security.

Meanwhile, a senior Russian official also warned Israel’s ambassador today that actions that led to a further increase in civilian casualties in Gaza were unacceptable.

Israel said on Wednesday it was not setting a timeframe for an end to hostilities with Gaza as its military pounded the Palestinian enclave with airstrikes and Hamas militants unleashed new cross-border rocket attacks.

Last week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pushed for an international effort to defuse the conflict, calling for a meeting between Russia, the US, the UN, and the EU.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin also urged Israel to “immediately” stop all settlement activities in the Palestinian territories.

Tensions have been running high in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem since an Israeli court ordered the eviction of Palestinian families.

The escalation resulted in airstrikes by Israel on Gaza, which has left at least 219 people dead and more than 1500 others wounded, according to Palestinian health authorities.