“The Secretary-General believes that the attacks we have seen in South Beirut and Teheran represent a dangerous escalation at a moment in which all efforts should instead be leading to a ceasefire in Gaza,” said Stéphane Dujarric, who serves as Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, told reporters on Wednesday.

“Rather than that, what we are seeing are efforts to undermine these goals,” Dujarric added.

He also said that UN Secretary-General urges all parties to vigorously work towards regional de-escalation in the interest of long-term peace and stability.

The remarks came after Ismail Haniyeh, who served as the political bureau chief of Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, was assassinated along with one of his bodyguards in their accommodation in Tehran.

It also came a day after Israel carried out an airstrike on a compound of commanders of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah in the capital Beirut.