West Asia crisis: Hamas welcomes Iran’s attack on Israel | Top updates

Iran on Saturday (Apr 13) launched an unprecedented attack against Israel in retaliation for an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on April 1 that killed seven officers, including a senior commander of the IRGC. Israeli residents in Jerusalem said they did not want a war with Iran. A report by the news agency Reuters said that Israel reported modest damage and reopened its airspace.

The authorities instructed citizens not to hold gatherings of more than 1,000 people, to close all schools and venues for children's camps during the spring break for the Jewish holiday of Passover, and to close some beach and travel sites. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed his country would achieve victory after the Iranian attack, but Israel's response remained unclear.

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This conflict between Iran and Israel comes as Israel has been already fighting a war with Hamas since early October last year. Later on Sunday, the Israeli war cabinet will discuss a response to the Iranian attack.

>Hamas on Sunday defended Iran's attack on Israel. In a statement, the Palestinian militant group said, "We in Hamas regard the military operation conducted by the Islamic Republic of Iran a natural right and a deserved response on the crime of targeting the Iranian consulate in Damascus and the assassination of several leaders of the Revolutionary Guards."

>United States (US) President Joe Biden held a conversation with Israeli PM Netanyahu following the Iranian attack. Biden said that he reiterated the ironclad US support for Israel's security. "I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks – sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel," the US president added.

>Iran warned on Sunday that a US backing of Israeli retaliation would result in US bases being targeted.

>Italy, which holds the rotating presidency of the G7, has called a virtual meeting of the grouping's leaders to discuss the Iranian attack. In a post on X, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, "We express our deep concern about a further destabilisation of the situation in the region and continue to work to avoid that."

>Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, meanwhile, said he hoped Israel would adopt a cautious line, saying there should not be a counterattack to the Iranian attack.

>Three countries - Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon have reopened their airspace on Sunday after closing it late on Saturday due to the Iranian attack. Two security sources told Reuters that Jordan, which lies between Iran and Israel, had readied air defences to intercept any drones or missiles that violated its territory.

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>There has been a global condemnation of Iran's attack and several countries have expressed solidarity with Israel or declared their commitment to its security.

>Major airlines across the Middle East announced the cancellation of some of their flights. A report by The Times of Israel said that Emirates cancelled some of its fights, while Etihad Airways cancelled services to Tel Aviv and Amman on Sunday.

(With inputs from agencies)