The Palestinian Authority (PA) said Sunday that the Israeli military escalation has "crossed all red lines."
"The Israeli aggression…crosses all red lines and represents an Israeli attempt to push the situation into more escalation and tension," PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement cited by the state news agency Wafa.
The spokesman called on the international community, particularly the US administration, to immediately intervene to halt the Israeli aggression "before it is too late."
Abu Rudeineh said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is pursuing efforts with regional and international parties to stop the Israeli offensive.
"The UN Security Council will hold a special session to discuss the attacks on the Gaza Strip, and it must stand up to its responsibilities and stop this aggression," he added.
Israeli warplanes continued airstrikes in the Gaza Strip for the third day on Sunday, for what the army said was to prevent an "imminent threat of attacks" by the Islamic Jihad group.
At least 31 Palestinians have been killed, including six children and four women, and over 275 others injured in the Israeli offensive, according to the Health Ministry.
The attacks came amid rising tensions across Palestinian territories following the detention of Bassam al-Saadi, a senior leader of Islamic Jihad, in an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin early this week.
The Israeli army said the Gaza offensive may last for a week. But the head of Israel's domestic intelligence service Shin Bet on Sunday recommended ending the Gaza offensive, saying the onslaught achieved its goals by dealing a heavy blow to the Islamic Jihad group.
