Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Russia's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that a remark by an Israeli junior minister who appeared to express openness to the idea of Israel carrying out a nuclear strike on Gaza had raised a "huge number of questions."
More stories:
"This has raised a huge number of questions," Maria Zakharova, Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman, was quoted as saying by state RIA news agency. "Question number one - it turns out that we are hearing official statements about the presence of nuclear weapons?" Zakharova said.
"If so," she said, "then where are the International Atomic Energy Agency and international nuclear inspectors?"
Israel does not publicly acknowledge it has nuclear weapons though the Federation of American Scientists estimates Israel has about 90 nuclear warheads. It is not a signatory of the UN non-proliferation agreement or subject to inspections of the IAEA.
Heritage Minister Amichay Eliyahu remarked in a radio interview on Sunday that dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza was "one option." He also asserted there were no uninvolved civilians in Gaza.
His comments sparked an immediate backlash, which led Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to promptly suspend Eliyahu from Cabinet discussions indefinitely.
However, there is no provision for suspending a minister under Israeli law. In fact, just hours after the prime minister's statement on Eliyahu's suspension, the minister took part in a ministerial vote concerning the extension of the Justice Ministry's authority over specific decisions related to the war.
On the heels of public furor, the far-right minister later qualified that his remark was a "metaphor."
Netanyahu did not fire the minister, a step he was authorized to take, likely due to political considerations aimed at preserving his coalition. This decision came despite widespread criticism, including a statement from the United States labeling Eliyahu's remarks as "deplorable."
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said on social media platform X on Monday that, "The UN Security Council and the International Atomic Energy Agency must take immediate and uninterrupted action to disarm this barbaric and apartheid regime. Tomorrow is late."
Syria said Eliyahu's comments and Israel's bombing in Gaza were proof of the "terror, racism and cruelty" of Israel.
Jordan said it condemned the "racist, inflammatory and provocative statement." "This is a call for genocide and an intolerable hate crime," the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said.
Saudi Arabia condemned Eliyahu's statements and criticized Netanyahu's inaction in not dismissing him. Additionally, an Egyptian parliamentarian warned that an Israeli minister's declaration suggesting that Gaza should be erased and replaced with Jewish settlements might escalate to threats against other Arab countries.