West Asia crisis LIVE updates: China, Indonesia call for ceasefire in Gaza

According to media reports, Iran has escalated its crackdown on hijab restrictions sparking backlash and conern among opposition and human right groups. 

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The foreign ministers of China and Indonesia on Thursday called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Addressing a press conference, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that Jakarta and Beijing shared the same view about the importance of a ceasefire and a two-state solution.

The US has agreed to Israel's Rafah plan in exchange for a limited response against Iran. 

Israeli officials miscalculated the severity of Iran’s response to the April 1 strike on a building in Damascus in which several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders were killed, The New York Times reports.

The Hezbollah terror group announces the deaths of two members Ali Hamada, from Doueir, and Muhammad Shami, from Kafr Kila.

European Union leaders on Wednesday (Apr 18) have agreed to intensify sanctions on Iran following Tehran's unprecedented drone and missile attacks on Israel over the weekend. 

The decision, announced by European Council President Charles Michel at an EU summit in Brussels, targets Iran's drone and missile manufacturing sectors directly.

"We have decided to put in place sanctions against Iran. It is a clear signal that we wanted to send," said Michel, adding "The idea is to target the companies that are needed for the drones, for the missiles."

Before this, the EU had already sanctioned Iran for supplying drones to Russia, which have been used in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. However, these earlier sanctions have not significantly disrupted the relationship between Tehran and Moscow, reports AFP.

Even amid international concern about the rising tensions, Israel PM Netanyahu remains adamant about the nation defending itself. As per an AFP report, in response to the diplomatic pressure, including from Israel's main military backer Washington, Netanyahu on Wednesday (Apr 17) insisted Israel will make its own decisions, and "do what it needs to defend itself".

Israel as per Israeli and US media reports considered carrying out a strike on Iran in retaliation for last weekend's unprecedented attack, but then aborted the plan.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to respond to the attack, according to Israeli public broadcaster Kan had discussions with US President Joe Biden. Following this, Netanyahu decided not to proceed with pre-arranged plans for retaliatory strikes on Iran.

"Diplomatic sensitivities came into play," a senior Israeli official told Kan, adding that there would be a response, but that it would differ from what was initially planned.

Similarly, citing three unnamed Israeli sources, ABC News reported: "Israel prepared for and then aborted retaliatory strikes against Iran on at least two nights this past week."