Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will host a call of Group of Seven (G7) leaders on Wednesday to discuss the crisis in the Middle East, her office said.

Meloni told her cabinet that there was "deep concern" about the latest developments, including Iran's missile attack against Israel and the growing instability in Lebanon, her office said.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian warned that Israel would "face harsher reactions" if it does not cease what he referred to as "its crimes."

Pezeshkian made these remarks prior to his scheduled trip to Qatar, where he stated that his primary objective in Doha is to discuss bilateral relations and sign agreements with the Qatari government. 

He will also attend the Asia Cooperation Dialogue summit.

He added: "The second goal is to explore how Asian countries can work together to prevent Israeli crimes in the region and stop enemies from creating unrest in the Middle East."

'Comprehensive and lasting ceasefire' needed

"China is deeply concerned about the turmoil in the Middle East, opposes the violation of Lebanon's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and opposes the intensification of contradictions and the expansion of conflicts," a spokesman of the country's foreign ministry said.

"China calls on the international community, especially influential countries, to play a constructive role to avoid further turmoil in the situation," he added. "China believes that the failure to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza is the root cause of this round of turmoil in the Middle East. 

"All parties should achieve a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire in Gaza as soon as possible," he urged.

UN chief Antonio Guterres called to stem the "broadening conflict in the Middle East," saying in a statement: "This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire."

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz says he is barring Guterres from entering the country for his failure to "unequivocally condemn" Iran's huge missile attack on Israel.

The United Nations Security Council will meet later in the day to discuss the escalation, but in a sign that Western states are looking to anticipate the worsening situation, Cyprus said it had activated a mechanism to allow third-country nationals evacuating the Middle East safe passage through the island.

Jordan and Iraq close airspace

The Jordanian government says it will not allow the country to become a battleground.

"Protecting Jordan and Jordanians is our first responsibility," government spokesperson Mohammad Momani told local media.

His comments came after Iran fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for the killing of people in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as the assassination of top Hamas, Hezbollah and Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) leaders.

Jordan moved to shut its airspace while the kingdom's Public Security Directorate issued a statement, saying "the Royal Jordanian Air Force and air defense systems responded to a number of missiles and drones that entered Jordanian airspace."

Momani, who is also the minister of government communication, added that parts of the missiles landed in different parts of the kingdom, resulting in three minor injuries.

Iraq - which also lies between Iran and Israel - closed its airspace, as did Lebanon before reopening.

U.S. President Joe Biden, who has called for a halt in the violence in Lebanon, said the United States was "fully supportive" of Israel after the missile attack.

India says it's "deeply concerned" by the escalating conflict and urges restraint and protection of civilians as Israel prepares to retaliate against a barrage of Iranian missile strikes.

"It is important that the conflict doesn't take a wider regional dimension and we urge that all issues be addressed through dialogue and diplomacy," India's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Hope for 'de-escalation and dialogue'

Saudi Arabia is hoping for de-escalation and dialogue, Economy Minister Faisal al-Ibrahim said, when asked at a conference in Berlin about the situation in the Middle East.

Al-Ibrahim called the escalation unfortunate but said it was very hard to avoid discussing.

"We hope that wisdom will prevail, de-escalation will happen, dialogue will come into place and more collaboration will be seen globally, but also regionally for us to address these challenges," he said.

Fears that Iran and the U.S. would be drawn into a regional war have risen with Israel's intensifying assault on Lebanon in the past two weeks, including the start of a ground operation there on Monday, and its year-old conflict in the Gaza Strip.

The Kremlin said the situation in the Middle East is developing in an alarming direction and called on all sides to exercise restraint.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia had contacts with all sides in the region and said Moscow condemned any action that caused the death of civilians.

The Israeli military said that regular infantry and armored units were joining ground operations in southern Lebanon, stepping up pressure on Hezbollah, as Israel prepared to retaliate against a barrage of Iranian missile strikes.

"This situation is developing according to the most alarming scenario," Peskov said. "We call for restraint by all sides against the backdrop of what is happening. And of course, we condemn any actions which lead to the deaths of civilians."

Asked what Moscow would do next and whether it would support Iran in the event of Tehran entering a full-scale conflict with Israel, Peskov said: "We have contacts with all sides in this conflict, we continue to have these contacts and call on all sides for restraint."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a meeting with representatives of Arab countries at their request to discuss the escalating situation in the Middle East, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

'Iran risks setting region on fire'

Spain plans to send two military aircraft to evacuate as many as 350 citizens from Lebanon, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said.

Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares had said earlier this week around 1,000 Spaniards were in Lebanon.

Türkiye is working with about 20 countries for a possible evacuation of foreign nationals via Türkiye. About 14,000 Turkish citizens were registered at the consulate in Lebanon, but the number was not definitive.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on Iran and Hezbollah to immediately end their attacks on Israel and warned that Iran risks inflaming the entire region.

Germany and its partners will continue to work towards a ceasefire, he added.

"Iran is risking setting the entire region on fire - this must be prevented at all costs. Hezbollah and Iran must immediately cease their attacks on Israel," he said.

UK armed forces "played their part in attempts to prevent further escalation" as Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel late Tuesday, British Defence Secretary John Healey said.

"The UK stands fully behind Israel's right to defend its country and its people against threats," he added.

France said it had mobilized its military resources in the Middle East to counter what it called the Iranian threat after Tehran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called for an "immediate ceasefire" in the Middle East, while condemning Iran's attack "in the strongest terms."

Iran's attack on Israel threatened to ignite a broader conflict in the Middle East, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, as he condemned Tehran's missile barrage.

"The Iranian missile attacks on Israel must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. They threaten a further escalation of the already tense situation in the Middle East. Iran risks setting the entire region ablaze", Scholz said in a statement.

Lebanon faces 'catastrophic humanitarian impact'

"It is catastrophic in terms of the humanitarian impact on the people displaced," highlighted Hosam Faysal, International Federation of Red Cross's (IFRC) regional head of health, disasters, climate and crisis unit.

He spoke to CGTN Europe to explain what it has been like in Lebanon since Israel began its attacks on the country following the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

"Almost one million people have been displaced, according to the recent estimate by the local authorities, almost 4,000 buildings have been destroyed, and 37 health facilities closed due to the recent escalations," said the aid worker. 

"With almost 1,600 people killed, another 8,000 people injured during the ongoing hostilities. Lebanon had already been suffering before this escalation - from the socioeconomic situation to the Beirut port explosion, as well as the impact of COVID 19."

He also pointed out that "one out of every three displaced people is a child."

He said that given the "massive displacement from the south, from Bekaa and Beirut's southern suburbs, with health workers themselves being displaced, there is a massive need for support as the needs are beyond our coping capacity. 

"We are pushed to prioritize as we respond to our national reality on the ground."

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