GAZA CITY, PALESTINE — The Palestinian militant group Hamas has issued its first official statement since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on Iran, calling on its key benefactor to refrain from striking neighbouring countries while affirming Tehran’s right to retaliate against Israel and the United States.
In a carefully worded statement released on Saturday, Hamas said: “While affirming the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to this aggression by all available means in accordance with international norms and laws, the movement calls on the brothers in Iran to avoid targeting neighbouring countries”.
The appeal comes as Iran has launched missile and drone attacks across the Middle East in response to the joint US-Israeli bombing campaign that began on February 28, which killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Several Gulf states, including Qatar and the UAE, have been targeted, forcing them to activate air defences.
Diplomatic Tightrope
The statement places Hamas in a difficult diplomatic position. The group has long relied on Iranian financial and military support as a member of the “Axis of Resistance,” but also depends on patronage from Gulf states—particularly Qatar, which hosts Hamas’s political leadership in Doha.
Israeli media reported that Qatar pressured Hamas to issue the statement, warning that continued silence could result in the expulsion of its leaders from Doha and the suspension of aid
. A Hamas official confirmed the group had been in contact with Iranian officials and several regional governments, including Qatar, Turkey, and Iraq, urging them “to work toward halting the American and Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
Hamas strongly condemned “the American-Zionist aggression,” describing it as a violation of international law that threatens regional and global security.
The group called on all countries and international organisations to work toward an immediate end to the conflict.
Regional Fallout
The war has drawn in multiple fronts. Turkey confirmed on Friday that NATO forces shot down an Iranian ballistic missile that entered Turkish airspace
. Qatar reported intercepting two missiles, with blasts heard in Doha . Iranian forces have also struck targets in Kuwait and Bahrain, effectively closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping.
Hamas urged regional countries “to cooperate to stop this aggression and preserve fraternal ties,” warning that the conflict threatens to destabilise the entire Middle East.
The statement underscores the widening regional implications of the war, now in its third week, as Iran’s allies grapple with balancing their loyalties against the imperative of regional stability.
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