Hamas urges Iran to avoid strikes on neighbors as regional war widens
Gaza City — Hamas on Saturday urged Iran to refrain from targeting neighboring countries while affirming Tehran’s right to defend itself against Israel and the United States, as the conflict that began on Feb. 28 continues to expand across the Middle East.
In a statement, the Palestinian Islamist movement said it supported Iran’s right to respond to what it described as aggression but appealed to Tehran to avoid military actions that could draw additional countries into the conflict.
“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 neighboring countries,” Hamas said. The statement marked the group’s first public appeal of this nature directed at Tehran.
Hamas also called on the international community to work toward an immediate end to the war that has engulfed the region since late February.
The group previously condemned the killing of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, on the first day of the conflict, describing it as a “heinous crime” and crediting him with providing political, diplomatic and military backing to the Palestinian movement over many years.
Despite facing U.S. and Israeli military pressure, Iran has launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes that have reached at least 10 countries since the start of the conflict, according to statements cited by Hamas.
Authorities in Qatar said two missiles were intercepted on Saturday after explosions were heard in the capital Doha, prompting evacuations in parts of the city.
Meanwhile, NATO forces intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Iran in the airspace of Turkiye on Friday, Turkish officials said.
The conflict has also intensified along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where the Iran-aligned group Hezbollah fired hundreds of rockets at Israel shortly after the war began. Lebanese authorities say nearly 800 people have been killed in Israeli strikes since the escalation.
Iran has long been one of Hamas’s principal backers, with analysts estimating that Tehran provided the movement with tens of millions of dollars annually.
Under Khamenei, support for Palestinian groups formed a central element of Iran’s regional strategy against Israel and its allies. Several Sunni-majority states have also maintained ties with Hamas, including Qatar, which has funded humanitarian and reconstruction programs in Gaza, and Turkiye, which has provided political and diplomatic support under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Qatar has hosted Hamas’s political leadership in Doha, enabling the group to maintain international contacts and participate in mediation and negotiation efforts related to Gaza.
