Iran warned the scale of civilian suffering caused by Israel’s offensive on Hamas would inevitably lead to an expansion of the conflict, as officials in Gaza reported Israeli air strikes on or near several hospitals in the Palestinian enclave.

According to Reuters, the comments from Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian could ramp up concerns over whether Washington’s diplomatic efforts and deployment of US naval forces to the eastern Mediterranean will be able to keep the conflict from further destabilising 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,” Amir-Abdollahian 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.

Iran says it did not play any role in Hamas’ attack on Israel last month 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.